Sept. 1 (UPI) — Social media platform X updated its privacy policy to indicate it will begin collecting biometric and employment information from paid users.
The company, formerly known as Twitter, updated the policy Thursday to indicate it would collect unspecified biometric information “for safety, security, and identification purposes,” with the changes set to take effect on Sept. 29.
In the past, other companies have used biometrics including fingerprints and facial scans from photos to authenticate users or to protect financial and other sensitive information.
“We use information we collect to provide for the safety and security of our users, our products, services, and your account,” X said in its privacy policy. “This includes verifying your identity, authenticating your account, and defending against fraud, unauthorized use, and illegal activity.”
“We also use the information to evaluate and affect the safety and quality of content on X — this includes investigating and enforcing our policies and terms, as well as applicable law.”
X told the BBC it will give users of its X Premium service “the option to provide their government ID, combined with a selfie” to add a layer of verification to their account.
“Biometric data may be extracted from both the government ID and the selfie image for matching purposes. This will additionally help us tie, for those that choose, an account to a real person by processing their government-issued ID. This will also help X fight impersonation attempts and make the platform more secure,” the company said.
The company added that it would also gather information, such as education and employment history in order to “recommend potential jobs for you, to share with potential employers when you apply for a job, to enable employers to find potential candidates, and to show you more relevant advertising.”
The potential job-finding features come as Elon Musk, who purchased the company last year, has stated he hopes to convert the social media platform into an “everything app.”
Since Musk’s takeover, X has reportedly purchased job recruitment tool Laskie and signed a deal with Israeli stock trading app eToro to let users view and trade stocks on eToro.
