Twitter

**Twitter** is one of the most popular social media platforms on the web for both juveniles and adults alike. In fact, according to a Pew Research Center report done in November of 2016, approximately 24% of all adults who used the web were active Twitter users.

Some of the most influential pop culture icons of the twenty-first century, including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, are all active on the 140-character message platform, with 90.2 million, 64.6 million, and 68.1 "followers" respectively as of last winter.

As this website's user database continues to skyrocket and more people continue to share witty and short comments, there is something happening behind the scenes that most users are not informed about. That is that Twitter, not unlike most social media platforms, is collecting each user's personal data to be used for purposes most may not even be aware of.

## User Data and Twitter

### How does Twitter collect personal data?

There are several different tactics that Twitter utilizes to acquire the data of their users. The specification for collecting user data are clearly stated on the website's privacy policy. According to the official Twitter Privacy Policy, anytime someone uses Twitter or any of it's services, he or she "consents to the collection, transfer [...] and use of [their] information as described [in the] Privacy Policy." As most other sites do, Twitter uses cookies to "collect website usage data" to better understand how their users interact with their offered services and how they can be improved.

Twitter also reserves the right to archive any contact information users share for later use down the line. Twitter also considers the "tweets" users make and the device they actually "tweet" on as public information. Therefore, this is also included in a user's archived account information. Essentially, any and all activity from a Twitter user's account is aggregated and cached. Not even a user's private messages (called direct messages on Twitter) are safe. Twitter will "store and process" any form of communication that users send and related information about the messages sent.

One of the most mind-blowing ways that Twitter started to collect data about their users was actually through analyzing the other apps users may have installed on his or her devices. According to TIME'S Fitzpatrick, Twitter revealed a new feature called "app graph" in 2014. The company claimed that, in order to personalize the Twitter experience for its users, the Twitter app "[collected] and occasionally [updated] the list of apps installed on [the user's] mobile device..."

### How is a user's personal data used by Twitter?

The most popular use for this personal data is for targeted advertising. Due to the fact that Twitter observes what users tweet, they can personalize ads based on what users say. An example of this is through specific movie-based advertising. Twitter attempts to match current airing films with certain keywords and phrases that users may tweet.

The site also analyzes the "emojis" users may use to personalize the ads they see. Emojis are little "cartoon-ish expressions" that are on all smart phone devices. According to Fortune's Kia Kokalitcheva, the company would allow their ad partners to "engage with tweets containing particular emojis." If a user were to tweet, for example, a pizza emoji, he or she may see a pizza company's advertisement pop up. If the emoji employed is similar to the service an ad partner's company provides, the user may see a personalized ad almost immediately.

## References

1. ↑ Greenwood, S., Perrin, A., & Duggan, M. (2016, November 11). *Social Media Update 2016*. *Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech*. Retrieved 7 April 2017, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/
2. ↑ Bruner, R. (2016, December 6). *Katy Perry Tops Twitter's Most-Followed Celebrity List Again*. *Time.com*. Retrieved 7 April 2017, from http://time.com/4591951/top-twitter-celebrities-2016/
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 *Privacy Policy | Twitter*. (2016). *Twitter.com*. Retrieved 13 April 2017, from https://twitter.com/privacy?lang=en
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fitzpatrick, A. (2014, November 26). Twitter Will Now Track Which Other Apps You Install. Retrieved
 April 13, 2017, from TIME.com website: http://time.com/3608130/twitter-app-tracking/
5. ↑ Feeney, N. (2014, September 25). *Twitter to Test Targeted Ads for Movies*. *Time.com*. Retrieved 14 April 2017, from http://time.com/3429839/twitter-targeted-ads-movies/
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kokalitcheva, K. (2016, June 15). *The Emoji In Your Next Tweet Could Trigger An Ad*. *Fortune.com*. Retrieved 14 April 2017, from http://fortune.com/2016/06/15/twitter-emoji-ads/