Twitter, the social media giant, recently disclosed a security incident that caused private tweets sent to Twitter Circles to be shown publicly to users outside of the Circle. This incident took place in April 2023, and the company has since conducted a thorough investigation to understand how it occurred and has addressed the issue. Twitter also apologized to impacted users and expressed its commitment to protecting their privacy.
Twitter Circle was Introduced back in August 2022
Twitter Circle, a feature introduced in August 2022, allows users to send tweets to a small group of people while promising to keep them private from the public. Users select who is in their Twitter Circle, and only the people added to the Circle can reply to and interact with the tweets shared within it.
However, in early April, Twitter users started warning that tweets sent to Twitter Circles were being displayed publicly to people outside of the Circle in their timelines. Twitter has now confirmed that this was caused by a security incident that allowed users outside of the Circle to see tweets that should have been limited to the Circle to which the post was made.
Twitter did not disclose the cause of the security incident, but many changes have taken place on the platform since Elon Musk took ownership. These changes revolved around increasing the exposure of tweets via Twitter’s recommendation algorithm, which Musk said in late March would be updated every 28 to 48 hours.
Twitter’s swift action to investigate and fix the issue shows its commitment to protecting its users’ privacy. However, this incident highlights the risks that social media platforms pose in terms of privacy breaches. Users must be cautious when sharing sensitive information on social media and always be aware of the platform’s privacy settings.
Twitter’s security incident involving Twitter Circle tweets is a reminder of the importance of cybersecurity on social media platforms. Users must take precautions to protect their privacy online and be aware of the risks that come with sharing personal information on these platforms. Twitter’s commitment to protecting user privacy is appreciated, but more must be done to ensure that incidents like this do not happen in the future. Recently, the company announced that it will let government services use its API for free as well.
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