Grok says it has restricted image generation to subscribers after deepfake concerns. But has it?

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.

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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I also asked Grok what's going on. At the time of publication, Grok had not replied to my requests. So, we still don't actually fully know what the state of play is. Is image verification paywalled or not? If only someone could tell us (*cough* Elon?).

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 UK's communication regulator Ofcom said it had "made urgent contact" with X and xAI regarding "sexualised images of children" which had allegedly been generated by Grok.

Grok indeed admitted last week that generated images of "minors in minimal clothing" form part of a larger issue with deepfakes. "xAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely," read Grok's response.

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Grok is now being investigated by governments in France, India, and Malaysia for generating sexualised deepfakes in what appears to be the beginning of a global crackdown the AI assistant.

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The news that Grok will now only be available to paid subscribers does not go far enough, per a statement from UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer's official spokesperson, who called the move "insulting" to survivors of sexual violence and misogyny.

Downing Street told reporters that paywalling image generation "simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service".

Earlier this week, Starmer said in an interview that Grok's generation of sexualised imagery of women and children is "disgraceful" and "disgusting," saying "It's not to be tolerated...Ofcom has our full support to take action in relation to this."

This could mean the UK government could ban X if adequate protections are not introduced by X owner Elon Musk on his platform. Regulator Ofcom has the power to block a website or app in the UK by court order, in addition to fining a company 10 percent of its global turnover.

At the time of publishing, X had not publicly commented on this matter.

If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.

UPDATE: Jan. 9, 2026, 3:58 p.m. Updated with additional information.