Making calls on X? It may reveal your location
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, recently expanded its audio and video calling capabilities to all users, irrespective of their account type. However, this rollout has uncovered a significant privacy issue related to the potential exposure of users' Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
According to X, the default settings of the calling feature allow anyone following the caller on the platform to access their IP address. The IP address, a crucial identifier for devices on the internet, plays a central role in transmitting messages and loading websites. The exposure of this information poses various security risks, ranging from spam and identity theft to the potential disclosure of a user's location.
In response to these concerns, X has introduced a setting called 'Enhanced Call Privacy' to address and mitigate potential risks. According to the X Help Center, the 'Enhanced Call Privacy' setting is specifically designed to safeguard users' privacy by concealing their IP addresses during audio and video calls. Importantly, this setting is disabled by default for all users.
When both parties in a call have Enhanced Call Privacy disabled, the call operates in a peer-to-peer manner, potentially revealing each party's IP address to the other. However, enabling Enhanced Call Privacy for either party ensures that the call is routed through X's infrastructure, effectively masking the IP address of the party with this setting enabled.
To make a call on X without exposing your IP address, follow these simple steps:
- Tap the envelope icon to access your messages on the X platform.
- In the Messages section, tap the settings icon located in the top right corner.
- Locate and toggle the Enhanced Call Privacy option to enable the feature.