Meta: Twitter vs Threads: Who collects more user data and why it may be a ‘worry’ for Meta – Times of India

Technology

By Andrew McCollum On Jul 4, 2023

A simple app vs app competition could snowball into one of the most ‘epic fights’ wherein two ‘tech bros’ may take on each in a cage or the colosseum. Call it Twitter vs Threads, or Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg, it’s the same thing. Facebook parent Meta is expected to launch the Twitter rival app on July 6. Apart from the ‘superficial’ jiu-jitsu match, user privacy is another topic of discussion ahead of the app’s debut.
Meta doesn’t have a good record when it comes to user privacy.The upcoming Threads app is being targeted by many, including Twitter co-founder and former CEOJack Dorsey, on the microblogging platform. However, a quick comparison suggests that ‘bird company’ is not much different from the upcoming Instagram-linked app.

According to a screenshot posted on the App Store listing, Threads app collects 14 sets of user data including, health and fitness, financial info, purchases, location, contacts and sensitive info. The image was posted on Twitter by Dorsey saying, “All your Threads are belong to us.”

Musk replied, “Yeah.”
However, another image of the data collected by Twitter quickly popped up on the platform. This image suggests that both Twitter and Threads collect a lot of user data. Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

It is clear that in its current form, Meta collects more data than Twitter, primarily related to finance. Twitter does not have any finance-related features yet.
Musk has already announced his desire to make the microblogging platform an all-in-one app similar to China’s WeChat that enables users to make payments and socially connect with peers via instant messaging and calling.

Companies have long argued that data collection helps them provide a tailored experience to users, however, there have been cases across the globe wherein the tech giants, such as Meta and Google, have been fined over data protection breaches.
Meanwhile, Twitter’s present competitors Mastodon and BlueSky have reportedly seen an influx of signups over the last three days.

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