“We’re Very Sorry This Happened”: Twitter Admits To Using Security Data For Targeted Ads

?stanbul, Turkey - August 28, 2017: Woman using smart phone on a wooden desk. The smart phone is an iPhone 6 plus displaying Twitter application.  iPhone is a touchscreen smartphone developed by Apple Inc.

Twitter has admitted to “inadvertently” using personal data like email addresses and phone numbers for targeted advertising.

The blunder meant that when a user handed over this data for security purposes – eg two-factor authentication – it was instead used by Twitter’s ad services.

“We cannot say with certainty how many people were impacted by this, but in an effort to be transparent, we wanted to make everyone aware,” the company said in a statement.

“No personal data was ever shared externally with our partners or any other third parties.

“As of September 17, we have addressed the issue that allowed this to occur and are no longer using phone numbers or email addresses collected for safety or security purposes for advertising.”

It’s not the first time Twitter has been forced to make such a statement.

Earlier this year, the company admitted to another security issue around mobile ads.

Additionally, the account of company CEO Jack Dorsey was hacked and sent a series of racist tweets in August.




Please login with linkedin to comment

Data Social Media Twitter

Latest News

The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
  • Advertising

The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card

The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]

TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
  • TV Ratings

TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick

A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]