Twitter updated Privacy Policy effective from today, August 19, 2021: Here are 5 quick points

Twitter said that Tweets are immediately viewable and searchable by anyone around the world, though the non-public ways to communicate on Twitter can be done through protected Tweets and Direct Messages.

New Delhi: Twitter had announced some updates to its Privacy Policy in July this year. The updated Privacy Policy is coming into effect from today (August 19, 2021). 

"We believe you should always know what data we collect from you and how we use it, and that you should have meaningful control over both. We want to empower you to make the best decisions about the information that you share with us," Twitter wrote in its blogpost.

Here are 5 quick points on Twitter updated Privacy Policy as described by the company in its blog.

1. Twitter is public and Tweets are immediately viewable and searchable by anyone around the world. Twitter says that it gives you non-public ways to communicate on Twitter too, through protected Tweets and Direct Messages. You can also use Twitter under a pseudonym if you prefer not to use your name.

2. When you use Twitter, even if you’re just looking at Tweets, Twitter receive some personal information from you like the type of device you’re using and your IP address. You can choose to share additional information with us like your email address, phone number, address book contacts, and a public profile. Twitter will use this information for things like keeping your account secure and showing you more relevant Tweets, people to follow, events, and ads.

3. Twitter gives you control through your settings to limit the data we collect from you and how we use it, and to control things like account security, marketing preferences, apps that can access your account, and address book contacts you’ve uploaded to Twitter. You can also download information you have shared on Twitter. 

4. In addition to information you share with Twitter, the micro-blogging site uses your Tweets, content you’ve read, Liked, or Retweeted, and other information to determine what topics you’re interested in, your age, the languages you speak, and other signals to show you more relevant content. It gives you transparency into that information, and you can modify or correct it at any time.

5. If you have questions about this policy, how Twitter collects or process your personal data, or anything else related to our privacy practices, Twitter said that it wants to hear from you. You can contact the company at any time.