Twitter Claims It Unintentionally Used Your Phone Number for Targeting Ads
- Mehedi Hassan
- Oct 09, 2019
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Large tech companies have been known to misuse user data, and Twitter is not an exception. The company announced on Tuesday night that it accidentally used users’ phone numbers for ad targeting.
Twitter apparently used your phone number and email address for advertising purposes in its Tailored Audiences and Partner Audiences advertising systems.
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The “error” allowed third-party advertisers to target ads based on details from their own marketing lists — which could have included your email address or phone number. Twitter was matching your phone number or email address with the marketing lists from advertisers, and even in some cases, data from third-party partners. “This was an error and we apologize,” the company said.
Twitter wouldn’t say how many users were affected by the problem, though it said the issue was fixed on September 17. Twitter also claimed that none of your personal data was ever shared with third-party partners, and it’s no longer using your phone numbers or email addresses for advertising purposes.