Twitter admits it may have used user data for ads without consent
Twitter said on Tuesday that it may have used user data for personalized ads without their permission due to issues with the microblogging website’s settings.
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11:00 08/03/24
Twitter users might have had information regarding their country code, engagement details and the devices they used compromised by the social media platform.
“If you clicked or viewed an advertisement for a mobile application and subsequently interacted with the mobile application since May 2018, we may have shared certain data with trusted measurement and advertising partners”, said the statement released by the company.
The company announced it had discovered the issues recently and fixed them on Monday, although it hasn’t yet determined how many users or who specifically was impacted.
"You trust us to follow your choices and we failed here," Twitter said on its website along with an apology.
Big technology companies have been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over their data sharing practices and they are forced to have consent from users before sharing their personal information.
Consumer data is a powerful tool that companies use to decide where to place advertisements, what content to feature, and which consumers might be interested in the product.