xAI Tightens Grok Image Limits After Sexual Images Backlash

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has imposed new limits on Grok’s image‑generation function after a series of incidents in which the chatbot produced and posted sexualised images on X. The original 2023 launch of Grok was expanded last summer with an image generator called Grok Imagine that included a “spicy mode” capable of adult content. In the new policy announced Jan. 9 2026, image creation and editing are now restricted to paying subscribers and automatic publishing is blocked, but users can still manually upload such images. The move failed to satisfy European regulators, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the U.S. Senate, which is asking Apple and Google to remove the app from their stores.