In a privacy policy update, X, formerly known as Twitter, will start collecting biometric information from its users, such as a picture of their face.
For verification purposes, subscribers to its subscription service, X Premium, can elect to submit a selfie and a photo ID.
Furthermore, the policy stipulates that X may compile information about prior employment and education.
This would be to “recommend potential jobs for you, to share with potential employers when you apply for a job”.
It’s been suggested that X might want to provide recruitment services.
According to rumors, X Corp purchased Laskie, a tech staffing firm, in May. Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, as it was then known, last year for $44 billion (£34.7 billion), this was the first corporate takeover.
On September 29, the new privacy policy will go into effect.
It states: “We may collect and use your personal information (such as your employment history, educational history, employment preferences, skills and abilities, job search activity and engagement, and so on) 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.’”.
According to X, only X Premium users are permitted to acquire biometric data, which includes information about a person’s physical characteristics like a fingerprint or facial scan.
The company said to the BBC: “X will give the option to provide their government ID, combined with a selfie, to add a verification layer.
“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.”
Additionally, Mr. Musk reaffirmed X’s intentions to enable users to make both voice and video calls. No phone number would be required, according to him, and the feature “works on iOS, Android, Mac & PC.”
He asserted, “X is the effective global address book”.
There was no mention of a release date for the new calling feature, though.
As part of Mr. Musk’s goal to make X a “everything app,” a one-stop shop for a variety of services, additional capabilities may continue to be added as well as additional revisions to the privacy policy to enable them.
