Grok says it has restricted image generation to subscribers after deepfake concerns. But has it?
Elon Musk's AI tool Grok says it's now restricted to X paid subscribers, after reports emerged it was digitally removing women and children's clothes from images.
Elon Musk's AI tool Grok says it is now restricted to X paid subscribers. The move comes after an outcry over sexualised and violent images reportedly generated by the platform's AI assistant.
Earlier this week, news emerged that Grok was digitally removing women's clothes in images without their consent, in response to user requests. X users were also reportedly asking the chatbot to manipulate women's photos to make them appear in swimsuits or even sexual situations.
Now, when users who aren't paying subscribers ask Grok to edit an image, Grok responds with the following message viewed by Mashable: "Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features," with a link to X's Premium sign-up page.
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While Grok is repeatedly stating that this feature is paywalled, The Verge noticed that "it no longer generates images as @grok replies for free, but Grok’s image editing tools remain readily available for any X user to churn out images, both sexualized and tame."
Grok responded to Mashable stating that "as of January 9, 2026, image generation and editing via Grok on X are restricted to paid subscribers following backlash over misuse." It added that some non-subscribers may be able to access it in the standalone Grok app, however.
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Mashable did receive a response from X, stating their current response was posted (albeit several days ago) on X's Safety account, stating: "Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content." No additional clarifications were made regarding paywalling.
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This week, analysts at the Internet Watch Foundation charity in the UK said they had found "criminal imagery" including "sexualised and topless imagery" of children aged 11-13 on an unnamed "dark web forum," which users claimed were made using Grok. On Monday, the it had "made urgent contact" with X and xAI regarding "sexualised images of children" which had allegedly been generated by Grok.