X, formerly Twitter, just announced that there’s a possibility that it will start to collect biometric and employment data from its users. This increases the amount of personal information that users are going to share with the social media platform.
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- Tech Industry Giants Revamp Services to Meet EU’s Digital Services Act Requirements
X recently updated their privacy policy, where it added two sections regarding the new types of data they are looking to collect.
Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes
X Policy
Although the policy is not explicit on what biometric information the company is looking to gather, other companies have used the term to get data on a person’s face, eyes, and even fingerprints.
A spokesperson for X confirmed the policy change but did not provide more details.
Criticisms on Collecting and Using Biometric and Employment Data
Users and regulators have strongly criticized social media companies like Facebook and X for the information they collect from their users. A sore point is that they use this information in selling ads based on your interests and online activities.
It is not clear how X will collect or use the biometric data.
Elon Musk, who bought Twitter last year, has said one of his goals is to get rid of fake accounts and encourage more users to use a service that gives them a blue check mark, indicating that they have paid $8 a month and are more likely to be real.
After the policy update, Musk announced that X users will be able to make video and audio calls through the platform without sharing their phone numbers as part of his vision to create an “everything app.”
X plans to collect information about users’ jobs and education histories.
“We may collect and use your personal information (such as your employment history, educational history, employment preferences, skills and abilities, job search activity and engagement, and so on) to recommend potential jobs for you, to share with potential employers when you apply for a job, to enable employers to find potential candidates, and to show you more relevant advertising,” according to the updated privacy policy.
For X Premium users, the company will offer an option to provide a government ID and a selfie image for verification purposes. The company may extract biometric data from the government ID and the selfie image for matching purposes.
A Step to Becoming an Everything App
“This will additionally help us tie, for those that choose, an account to a real person by processing their Government ID,” according to the company. “This will also help X fight impersonation attempts and make the platform more secure.”
The changes reflect what many of X’s competitors already collect. But it also shows that Twitter is interested in tracking more types of information. The policy change comes as owner Elon Musk tries to turn the platform into an “everything app” that could include financial services and other features like WeChat.
How do you feel about X collecting biometric and employment data from its users? Do you think that it will make the platform safer and more secure? We want to know your thoughts!
2 Comments
Big surprise! Elon Musk wants more data
Is there anything they’re not collecting?!