Privacy Concerns Arise as X Plans to Collect Biometric Data and Personal Information

X formerly known as Twitter will soon start collecting users’ biometric data with their qualifications and job history according to its new privacy policy that Bloomberg first reported.

The policy reads “Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes.’’ Although some facts are still not specified by X as to what exactly biometric information means. Well, it usually means describing a person’s physical characteristics such as their fingerprints or facial features.

According to the reports of Bloomberg the company has stated that the Biometrics are available for premium users and in order to add a verification layer they will provide the users the option to submit their government IDs and add their image. The biometric data might be extracted from both the ID and image matching purposes. The same is mentioned on the update policy page of X.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the company stated, “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.”

A representative of San Francisco-based X confirmed the new policy change. Social media companies have long drawn criticism from users and regulators around the world for the information they gather and how they use that data, including the sale of advertising tailored to a person’s interests and search histories. Elon Musk, who bought Twitter last year, has said one of his priorities is to rid the site of inauthentic accounts and push more users toward using a service that applies a blue check mark, indicating the user has paid $8 a month and is more likely to be human.

In addition to the new changes in biometric information, X’s updated policy says it will start storing users’ employment and education history as well.

“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,” the updated policy reads.