Baystreet Staff
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is planning to collect biometric and employment information on users of the popular social media site.
Executives at X, which is owned by Elon Musk, say they are looking to expand the range of personal information they collect from account holders on the site.
The possible collection of biometrics such as fingerprints and retina images came to light after the company filed a new privacy policy with regulators that includes two new sections related to people’s biological and employment information.
“Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes,” the latest privacy policy reads.
X adds in the updated policy that it may also collect information on users’ employment and education history.
The employment and education information would be gathered to suggest potential job openings to users and to further target users with advertising, states the social media company.
X says that collecting biometric information from users will help it to fight impersonation attempts and make the platform more secure.
The latest changes come as Musk aims to turn the recently rebranded social media site into what he calls an “everything app” that could include financial services and other offerings.
The change also coincides with regulatory initiatives around the world that require social media companies to verify the ages of some users.
However, there are growing concerns about privacy violations among technology and social media companies, especially when it comes to collecting people’s biometric information.
X is no longer a publicly traded company. Musk took the company private after buying it for $44 billion U.S. in October 2022.
