X has introduced a new feature that makes it a little harder for other users to manipulate your uploaded images with the Grok chatbot. As reported social media today and verified by The VergeA new toggle within the image upload settings on the iOS app says that when enabled it may “block modifications by Grok”. but it’s not like that In fact Prevent Grok from editing your photos.
The small print below the feature’s name reveals an important limitation: Users can only “Prevent @Grok from modifying this content.” In our testing, the toggle only blocks editing instructions as well as the mechanism for tagging the This feature was blocked for free X accounts in response to a global outcry from lawmakers regulatorBut paying customers can still edit images by tagging the bot.
This new option is not easy to find. When you upload an image to X Post Builder, you can locate it by tapping on the paintbrush symbol that appears at the bottom right of the thumbnail and then selecting the flag icon at the bottom right of the editing taskbar. In our testing the Grok blocker did not appear at any point during the X image upload process to the web. The toggle also does not appear on older content that has already been uploaded to X.
The Verge Published an image on X with the grok block toggle enabled and tried to edit it with different accounts. While free users are already blocked from editing images via @Grok reactions, the new toggle prevents paying premium customers from doing so as well. This is just one of many ways X users can edit images with Grok, and the toggle did absolutely nothing to protect against the others.
I can still press and hold a protected image on the X iOS app to open the “Edit image with Grok” option using the free From there, the app makes no effort to stop me from manipulating the image. I can also save a protected image, re-upload it to the same X thread, and tag Grok to edit it from there now that I’ve removed the blocking protection.
This feature has not been officially announced yet, so availability and developmental status are unclear at the moment. We have sought comment from X.
