Twitter, also known as X, is opening the door to collecting people’s biometric data as part of a new user-verification system, according to the company’s new privacy policy.
The privacy policy was updated this week and goes into effect on Sept. 29. Biometric data collection will be optional, though. “Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes," the policy says.
Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the company told Bloomberg the biometric data can be collected for users of X Premium, previously known as Twitter Blue, which offers subscribers a verified checkmark for $8 per month.
To verify a subscriber's identity, X Premium users can choose to submit a government-issued ID. The company then plans on extracting the facial data from the government ID and matching it to a submitted selfie from the user to confirm their identity. The process will require the user consenting to storing their information for up to 30 days with X and sharing it with an Israeli company called AU10TIX, which will be charged with the ID verification.
“This will additionally help us tie, for those that choose, an account to a real person by processing their government issued ID,” X told Bloomberg. “This will also help X fight impersonation attempts and make the platform more secure.”
That said, the optional ID-verification system could alienate some users who fear X will mishandle their most sensitive data. The other notable change to X’s privacy policy is how the company plans on collecting users' job history and education details to build a competitor to LinkedIn.
The upcoming service could help users develop their careers. But it’ll also require participants to share even more personal information with X. Under the privacy policy, the company notes it can share the job data with potential employers while also using the details to power ads.
The updated privacy policy also reiterates X owner Elon Musk’s intent to tap the user-created tweets on Twitter to train AI models. Back in July, Musk mentioned the plan in his effort to create a generative AI program to counter OpenAI’s ChatGPT. But many artists are already rebelling against the idea and vowing to quit Twitter over fears Musk will create an AI powerful enough to copy their art styles without offering any compensation.