X shows an account's location in About this account, which X works out from your aggregated IP addresses rather than anything you type. You can choose whether it shows your region or your country by clicking your joined date on your profile and opening the settings gear.
That's the short version from X's Help Center, read in October 2026. There are in fact three different location settings on X, and people mix them up all the time: the location you type on your profile, the private country setting on your account, and the public About this account label. Each one works differently, and only one of them is completely up to you.
The three kinds of location on X
| Setting | Who sees it | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Profile location | Everyone who views your profile | Whatever you type, and it's optional |
| Country setting | Nobody else: X calls it non-public | Your account information; X uses it to customise X and confirm you're old enough |
| About this account | Anyone, if your account is public | Inferred by X from your aggregated IP addresses |
The surprise for most people is the third one. You didn't fill it in, yet it's public on a public account, because X derives it from the IP addresses you connect from.
How About this account works
X describes About this account as part of your account profile that's publicly available if your account is set to public. To see the label on any account, open the profile and click the date they joined. To control yours:
- Go to your own profile.
- Click your joined date.
- Select the settings gear icon.
- Choose whether to show the region or the country your account is based in.
If the location shown is wrong, X says you can report the problem from the same place. That matters if you travel a lot or use a VPN, since the label is built from where your connections come from.
How to change your country setting
Your country setting is separate. X says it helps customise your experience, can affect what content X is able to show you, and helps confirm you're old enough to use X where you live. To correct it:
- Visit Your account in settings.
- Click Account information and enter your password.
- Select Country.
- Pick the correct country from the drop-down.
- Click Agree and continue.
The country setting also decides which company handles your data. X says that if you live in the United States your information is controlled by X Corp., and if you live outside the United States the data controller is X Internet Unlimited Company in Dublin.
X also explains that when you use X it receives location information such as your IP address, and with Precise Location turned on it can collect GPS, nearby wireless networks or cell tower details. It uses that to set your country and to withhold content where local law requires it.
Profile location: the one you control
Your profile location is the line under your bio. X calls it completely optional and a place to express yourself, so you can leave it blank, write a city, or put something playful. You edit it from Profile, then Edit profile.
Locations on individual posts
Posts can carry a location too, and this is where privacy slips happen. On the X apps, X says a post with a location may also include your precise GPS coordinates, which can be found through the X API, on top of the place name you chose. If you attach a photo taken with the in-app camera and tap the location icon, the precise location is linked to the post.
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To stop adding your location to posts, tap the post compose icon, tap the location icon, and when your current location is highlighted, tap X in the top left to remove it. X says location won't appear on future posts until you choose to add it again. Named places such as shops and landmarks come from Foursquare and Yelp.
Another setting people ask about is notifications, and what X offers now is covered in what happened to Twitter alerts.
The verdict
If you care about privacy, check About this account first, because it's the location most people don't know is public. Set it to region rather than country if you'd rather be vaguer, and switch off post locations unless you're promoting a local event. For a wider tidy-up, work through my X account privacy audit. If you're cleaning up your profile at the same time, here's how to change your name on X, and Facebook users can do the same job with Facebook's location settings.
I keep every related walkthrough in the Twitter (X) Help: 21 Guides to Features, Verification, Video Fixes and Tools.
Frequently asked questions
How does X know what country my account is based in?
X says it infers About this account from your aggregated IP addresses, so it reflects where you connect from, not what you type.
Can I hide my country on X?
You can choose whether About this account shows your region or your country by clicking your joined date and the settings gear. It's public if your account is public.
Is my X country setting public?
No. X calls the country setting non-public information used to customise X for you.
Do my X posts show my exact location?
Only if you add a location. X says posts from its apps may also include precise GPS coordinates findable through the X API.
