Skip to main content

Twitter apologizes for personal data misuse with timeline alert

If you saw an alert from Twitter in your timeline today about its use of “use of your personal information for tailored advertising,” you don’t necessarily need to panic. But the alert links to a statement from the app that is definitely worth reading.

The alert from Twitter is appearing within your timeline — we saw it this morning via the desktop web version of Twitter. The timeline alert is a notice that Twitter “may have served you targeted ads based on an email address or phone number you provided to us to secure your account.

Twitter's personal data timeline alert to its users.
screenshot

This alert then links to a Twitter Help Center article that reads like an apology statement from the bird app itself.

The issue that the alert is referring to is the fact that recently Twitter reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its gathering and use of Twitter users’ email addresses and phone numbers for targeted advertising. As today’s timeline alert notes, that personal information was provided by users to help secure their accounts, but Twitter also used it to serve targeted ads, without users’ knowledge.

Selecting the Learn More button in the timeline alert opens a link to Twitter’s Help Center article on the subject in which the bird app explained the timeline of events that led to the settlement with the FTC. In the statement, Twitter says that the personal info was used in targeted ads until September 2019 and then said since then that they “are no longer using phone numbers or email addresses collected for safety or security purposes for advertising.

Twitter also mentioned that users’ phone numbers and email addresses were not shared with advertisers and that users don’t need to do anything with respect to this issue.

The statement ended with an apology to users and offered a link to a form to contact Twitter’s Office of Data Protection with any questions or comments about its use of personal data.

Editors' Recommendations

Anita George
Anita has been a technology reporter since 2013 and currently writes for the Computing section at Digital Trends. She began…
What does the lock mean on Snapchat?
A person using Snapchat on an iPhone.

If you're new to Snapchat (or just a casual Snapchat user), you might not be aware of all of its features, including a certain lock-shaped icon. If you've ever wondered what that little lock icon means on Snapchat, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we'll explain what the lock is for and how it's connected to a Snapchat feature.
What does the lock mean on Snapchat?
In Snapchat, that lock icon indicates that the Snapchat story you're seeing is what's known as a Private Story.
What exactly is a Private Story?

A Private Story is a type of Snapchat story that allows the Snapchatter who posts it to restrict that story's visibility to only a few, select friends. That is to say, if you post a Private Story, you can choose which of your friends can see it. Additionally, the only user who can invite other users to it or add Snaps to a Private Story is the user who created the Private Story in the first place.

Read more
What is BeReal?
BeReal app notification on an Apple Watch.

BeReal has recently become a pretty popular social media app, and if you're wondering what all the fuss is about, you've come to the right place.

In the following sections, we'll go over everything you need to know about the new photo-sharing app that has everyone talking and sharing photos of themselves with their friends at random times of the day.
What is BeReal?

Read more
What is Ambient Mode on YouTube?
The red and white YouTube logo on a phone screen. The phone is on a white background.

YouTube recently announced a number of changes to its video-watching interface. One of these changes is a new feature known as Ambient Mode.

In this guide, we'll go over exactly what Ambient Mode on YouTube is and show you how to enable or disable it.
What is Ambient Mode on YouTube?
Ambient Mode is basically a lighting effect that surrounds a given YouTube video with a soft, glowing light that usually reflects the colors featured in the video itself. The effect kind of resembles the glow of a television screen in a room where the lights are off (which YouTube has said was the inspiration for the effect). YouTube also said that Ambient Mode is supposed to make the video-watching experience of its dark mode "more immersive." Ambient Mode was officially announced in late-October 2022 and is available on the web, Android, and iOS.

Read more