Twitter has added a new feature called “app graph”, which gathers a list of all the other apps you have installed on your smartphone in order to deliver better targeted advertising to its users.
While the additional data might allow small businesses advertising via Twitter to better target their ads, the Facebook-like move is likely to unsettle privacy advocates and users with concerns about their privacy.
“To help build a more personal Twitter experience for you, we are collecting and occasionally updating the list of apps installed on your mobile device so we can deliver tailored content that you might be interested in,” Twitter said on its website.
The social media giant claims the list will “help build a more tailored experience for you on Twitter” and that it does not collect information stored within third party apps, just which apps you have installed.
Aside from showing users “more relevant promoted content”, Twitter said the data harvested will improve “who to follow” and help the social network make “suggestions content to your timeline that we think you’ll find especially interesting”.
An option to switch off the additional data gathering feature is available in both the Android and iOS version of the app from the Settings Menu. It appears under the “Privacy” submenu in iOS and “Other” in Android, and is called “Tailor Twitter based on my apps” in both versions of the app.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
