X to Gather Biometric Info, Employment and Education Background

X, the social networking platform formerly referred to as Twitter, has recently revised its privacy policy to encompass the collection of a novel form of user data: biometric information.

“Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for security and identification purposes,” the company said in its new policy. X doesn’t define what it considers biometrics, although other companies have used the term to describe data extracted from a person’s face, eyes and fingerprints.

A representative for San Francisco-based X confirmed the new policy change.

Social media companies have long faced criticism from users and regulators around the world for their use of the information and data they collect, including selling advertising tailored to a person’s interests and search history. Elon Musk, who bought Twitter last year, has said that one of his priorities is to rid the site of inauthentic accounts and get more users to use the service, which has a blue check mark that indicates a user has paid $8 a month and is more. probably human.

X said biometrics is for premium users and allows them to provide their ID and photo for an added layer of verification. Biometric data can be extracted from both for matching purposes. “This will further help us connect those who opt in to the account with the right person by processing their official ID,” X said in a statement. “This will also help X fight against impersonation and make the platform more secure.”

Following the policy update, Musk announced that X users will be able to make video and voice calls through the platform without having to share their phone number in the latest service expansion as he aims to create an “app for everyone.”

X said it also plans to collect information about users’ jobs and educational history. “We may collect and use your personal information (such as your work history, education history, work preferences, skills and abilities, job search activity and engagement, and so on) to recommend potential jobs to you and share your potential employers when applying for a job, so that employers can find potential candidates and show you more relevant ads,” according to the updated privacy policy.

The previous policy, which was in place until September 29, did not include references to biometrics or work and employment history.

A class-action lawsuit proposed earlier this year alleged that X captured, stored and misused the biometric data of Illinois residents without authorization. According to the lawsuit filed in July, X “failed to adequately inform individuals who interacted (knowingly or not) with Twitter that it collects and/or stores their biometric identifiers in every photo uploaded to Twitter that contains a face.” 11.