X will now tell users if their posts are restricted due to local laws

If you are an X user, you might have come across the term “shadow banning,” where people claim their posts are not getting as many views as usual. Now, the Elon Musk-owned platform is promising users transparency by expanding its “Under the Hood” tool to show when and why an account or post had its visibility limited, maybe because of local laws.

The update means users can check whether any of their posts were withheld in a particular country following a legal demand. X will also identify the country involved, giving users a clearer picture of how government-required content filtering may affect their posts.

The announcement was shared by X Open Source on September 19. The company says the expanded tool will be available to all accounts that meet its basic eligibility criteria.What is X’s Under the Hood tool and how to download it?

X first introduced Under the Hood in August 2026, as part of its wider transparency push. The feature was announced on August 13, alongside the company’s move to open-source its “For You” recommendation algorithm. It allows eligible users to download a report showing labels applied to their accounts and posts during the previous month.

The new update builds on that feature. Along with account and post labels, the report will now show whether visibility was limited because X had to comply with local laws. It can also identify posts withheld in a country following a legal demand.

To access the tool, web users can visit “https://x.com/i/under_the_hood” website. As for the app user, click your profile icon, then select the “Settings and privacy” option, then “Your account,” and lastly “Under the Hood.” But before you download the Under the Hood report, there are certain terms to qualify. An account must be at least one year old and have published at least 10 posts during the previous month. X says the expanded version is being made available to all accounts that meet these requirements.

Eligible accounts can download their report as a JSON file, which contains the information in a machine-readable format. Users can open the file with suitable software or use an AI chatbot to help explain the data.Can governments make X hide your posts in their country

Yes, posts can be withheld in a particular country when X is required to comply with a legal demand. The new update is designed to make such restrictions more visible to users.

For example, a post may be available to people in one country but withheld from users in another, following a legal request. The expanded Under the Hood report can show whether this has happened and identify the country involved.

Now, why does the government do this? For multiple reasons. It could be concerning hate speech, or terrorism-related material or something sensitive. And from a free speech activist's point of view, the government may name those concerns to silence dissent or opposition. However, the announcement does not provide details about individual legal demands or explain the legal basis for every restriction.- EndsPublished By: Kazi NasirPublished On: Sep 22, 2026 12:22 ISTAlso Read | US govt says CEOs like Sam Altman responsible for their rogue AI. Not AI agentsAlso Read | OpenAI says unreleased AI model solved 100 math problems in less than 1 monthAlso Read | Google takes on MacBook with Gemini AI-powered Googlebook, pre-orders now open