The concern that most people have regarding Twitter, as well as other social media platforms, is whether their private data is safe. If you have ever wondered ‘Does Twitter collect my private data?’, the answer is yes. Here is what you need to know as it will help you stay safe while navigating the site.
Why does it do it?
The first question that probably came to your mind upon the discovery is why the site would collect your
information.
Do you remember that page that often comes up after you sign up for something and you tick on
‘I have read and understood the terms of agreement’ or other wording that points to the same thing? Well, it
turns out that you should not be so fast in giving these permissions as you need to consider what it is that
you are giving the site control to do.
Twitter can collect your information which it can then sell to companies which wish to conduct targeted advertising. That’s why you start seeing ads that relate to you after continued use of the site.
What can you do?
Some people are okay with this collection, and some are not. Before you decide whether you would prefer to
let the site continue with data collection or you want to put a stop to this, here is what you need to know.
Not only does the site remember what trends you have followed as well as what is on your bio, it goes a step
further in looking into what devices you have used in the past. If you used a laptop in the past to access
your feed, trust that this information is available to companies who have access to the data.
Have you given a thought to what you spend time looking at while you are online? Well, everything that you do on your browser is visible to the site, and this information is thus available to companies which use targeted advertising.
Some of you may be sweating at this point as they wonder how much the site can reveal about them. Others may be wondering if their financial data is safe. It is okay to have concerns, and if you would rather not have someone watching over your shoulder as you go about your online activities, there are some steps that you should take.
Go to your personalization and data settings web page. Here, you will find the option to disable the collection of data for advertising. Ensure that you save the changes and where the prompt comes up asking you to confirm the changes, be sure to click on the ‘I am sure' option.
If you feel that this is not enough control as to what the site can do, you can go a step further by looking into what settings are in place regarding your data.
Pick what it can access and what it should not touch, and your browser activities should be safe from prying eyes in the future. In this way, you can protect your data and stay safe while online.
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