Oops! Twitter Became a Mix‑Up in the Data Mix‑and‑Match Game
In a blunder that even seasoned tech regulators sigh at, Twitter accidentally used the very phone numbers and email addresses it collects to keep accounts safe for advertising.
The “Safe” Data Turns Into Targeted Ads
- Account security data?
- Same data? Advertisers matched it!
- Result: Users’ personal info slipped into ad feeds.
Twitter’s Quick Fix
Twitter didn’t just shrug; it flag‑ged the issue and slapped a fix mid‑September. The company apologized, promised tighter safeguards, and assured that the leak didn’t spill data beyond its own servers.
What We Really Want to Know
- Impact? Still a mystery—exact numbers remain under wraps.
- Partnership? No external sharing was confirmed.
Why This Matters
When big names like Twitter and Facebook mix personal data for ads, privacy buffs and regulators are all (and a bit of) alarm’d. It’s a reminder that even governments and security features can get a bit mixed up with marketing ambitions.
So next time you update a phone number on your profile, rest easy knowing that Twitter is tightening up to keep “advertising‑in‑security” from a future mix‑up.
