Formerly known as Twitter, X is taking a bold step by updating its privacy policy to include collecting biometric data from its users. This new move entails capturing photographs of users’ faces for identity verification purposes. Subscribers to X Premium, the platform’s subscription service, can provide a selfie and a photo ID for authentication.
Moreover, the updated policy reveals that X may also gather user employment and educational history data. This additional information is intended to facilitate the platform’s ability to recommend job opportunities and share relevant details with potential employers when users apply for positions.
There’s speculation that this strategic shift by X might hint at the platform’s intention to venture into recruitment services. This notion gains weight from the fact that X Corp recently acquired Laskie, a tech recruiting service, making it the first company acquisition since Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter in the previous year.
Scheduled to take effect on September 29, the new privacy policy outlines X’s intentions regarding collecting and utilising personal information. The approach emphasises that X may leverage collected data, including employment history, educational background, skills, job preferences, and engagement activity, to recommend potential job openings and aid employers in finding suitable candidates. Additionally, X will leverage this information to present users with more relevant advertising.
Liberty Vittert, a respected professor of data science at Washington University in St. Louis, commented on X’s motive for this transformation. She noted that X’s actions align with the platform’s efforts to create tailored and personalised user experiences, much like rival platforms such as LinkedIn.
However, Vittert sounded a note of caution. She emphasised that users should exercise wariness with the evolving privacy policy, as the gathered information might be susceptible to misuse by employers. Factors like tweets, retweets, and followed accounts could influence hiring decisions, creating a new concern for job seekers.
Addressing the collection of biometric data, which encompasses physical attributes like facial scans or fingerprints, X clarified that this effort is focused on X Premium users. The company explained that users can voluntarily provide their government-issued ID and selfie for verification purposes. Biometric data derived from these sources will be used for matching and bolstering account authenticity by linking it to an actual individual through their official ID. This process will fortify X’s defences against impersonation attempts, enhancing overall platform security.
Elaborating on plans, Elon Musk, the driving force behind X, reaffirmed the platform’s intention to introduce video and audio calling options. He assured users that this feature would be compatible across various devices, including iOS, Android, Mac, and PC, with no requirement for a phone number. Musk described X as a comprehensive global address book aiming to centralise various essential services.
While the timing of the new calling feature’s availability remains unspecified, Musk’s vision for X as an all-encompassing app continues to evolve. This ongoing development may lead to adding more features and further updates to the privacy policy to create a one-stop solution for diverse user needs.
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