Twitter will soon scan your device to see which apps are installed, here’s how you turn it off
Privacy concerns are a huge deal these days, mainly because the more connected you are to the internet, the less it seems your data is actually yours. Today, Twitter announced an upcoming change coming soon to their Android and iOS apps that’s raising concerns from privacy advocates The problem? The Twitter app will soon scan devices to see which apps are installed. Phandroid, BuzzFeed, Pornhub — everything will soon be revealed.
According to Twitter’s support page, it’s so Twitter can better serve promoted content (read: ads), suggestions on who to follow, and bring tweets from others to your timeline. Knowing this is a sensitive subject, the social media giant clearly states that no actual data from these apps is being collected, so no harm, no foul, right? Not so fast.
Although a small invasion of privacy (one Android and iOS developers already have access to), app scanning will be on by default and isn’t opt-in. Thankfully, Twitter is allowing users to turn off the app collecting in the app’s settings, and will even notify users once they changes go into effect via an in-app prompt. To turn it off, simply follow these instructions as detailed by Twitter:
- Tap the overflow icon (3-dot menu button)
- Tap Settings
- Tap the account you’d like to adjust
- Under Other, you can adjust the setting to Tailor Twitter based on my apps