X is testing NSFW communities for adults, according to screenshots

X lives up to its name. The platform, formerly Twitter, is working on an addition to its Communities feature that would allow X users to create groups for X-rated material, according to the app’s researchers.

Researcher Daniel Boschuk springy, which analyzes app development and performance, found this feature by reverse engineering the app. He shared screenshots with TechCrunch exclusively, showing what X’s NSFW communities could look like.

Independent researcher, Blessing Auggiealso discovered the feature in development last month.

Twitter introduced its Communities feature in 2021. It allows users to post within smaller interest-based subgroups, like a subreddit. When Elon Musk bought Twitter last year, he made sweeping changes to the app Brand identityand verification systems and creator monetization efforts — but some features, like communities, have remained stagnant.

X has also not taken much initiative in working with the large number of online sex workers, who turn to the platform – one of the few that allows adult content – to promote their paid performances from sites like OnlyFans.

“Twitter is really the main advertising venue at this point for sex workers,” Dr. Olivia Snow, a researcher at UCLA’s Center for Critical Online Inquiry, told TechCrunch last year. So, a more lenient platform policy on adult content is crucial for online sex workers to grow their businesses.

X did not respond to a request for comment.

Adult creators are allowed to post explicit content on X, though they cannot monetize it on the platform. But if they can create their own fan communities, this feature could give creators a more direct way to reach their audience.

Although X appears to be working on this NSFW Communities feature, that doesn’t mean it will come to fruition. Shortly after Musk took control of the platform, reverse engineers unveiled potential features that would allow content creators to monetize paywalled videos or charge money for direct messages. These models looked similar to features on OnlyFans, which could serve as a strategy for Musk to use to recoup his $44 billion investment: monetizing “X videos.”

But for now, it doesn’t appear that X is ready to reverse its stance on monetizing adult content. Even before Musk acquired the company, Twitter was developing… OnlyFans competitor, but was delayed because Twitter was unable to adequately detect non-consensual content and child sexual exploitation (CSE). But X says it alleviates this dire problem. According to X CEO Linda Yaccarino, in 2023 The platform suspended 12.4 million accounts For violating child sexual exploitation policies, up from 2.3 million accounts removed in 2022.