Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) to start collecting your biometric information and employment history starting Sept. 29

In a recent update to its privacy policy, Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) said it will start collecting the biometric and employment information of its users. The changes, which have not yet been implemented, will take effect on September 29.

In the company’s updated privacy policy published on Thursday, X says that the company may store and use biometric data “for safety, security, and identification purposes” in addition to how it collects and processes user information. However, the company stops short of how it plans to use the biometric information of its users.

In addition, X is also considering collecting and using data on people’s employment history and preferences to recommend jobs. This could potentially put the app in competition with Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, which is a leading professional networking platform. X added:

“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.”

Meanwhile, this may be a strategic move for X to potentially cut out data brokers, who have traditionally acted as the middlemen in the data collection process. Historically, social media companies and advertising networks have shared their users’ data with these data brokers.

These data brokers then use this information to track users across the digital landscape, associating them with a wealth of personal data, such as names, faces, Social Security numbers, credit card details, IP address histories, medical-related search engine activities, grocery store loyalty program transaction histories, viewership patterns for news articles, as well as histories on platforms like Amazon, eBay, Netflix, and YouTube, among others.

Subsequently, these data brokers sell this information to other companies, who can then use it to target users with advertising. This process allows social media companies and ad networks to claim that they only collect anonymous data, even though the data brokers are able to identify individual users.

You can read the rest of X’s updated privacy policy below.

1.1 Information you provide us.

To use some of our products and services you need to have an account, and to create an account, you need to provide us certain information. Likewise, if you use our paid products and services, we cannot provide them to you without getting payment information. Basically, certain information is necessary if you want to use many of our products and services.

Personal Accounts. If you create an account, you must provide us with some information so that we can provide our services to you. This includes a display name (for example, “Creators”); a username (for example, @XCreators); a password; an email address or phone number; a date of birth; your display language; and third-party single sign-in information (if you choose this sign-in method). You can also choose to share your location in your profile and posts, and to upload your address book to X to help find people you may know. Your profile information, which includes your display name and username, is always public, but you can use either your real name or a pseudonym. And remember, you can create multiple X accounts, for example, to express different parts of your identity, professional or otherwise.

Professional Accounts. If you create a professional account, you also need to provide us with a professional category, and may provide us with other information, including street address, contact email address, and contact phone number, all of which will always be public.

Payment Information. In order to purchase ads or other offerings provided as part of our paid products and services you will need to provide us payment information, including your credit or debit card number, card expiration date, CVV code, and billing address.

Preferences. When you set your preferences using your settings, we collect that information so that we can respect your preferences.

Biometric Information. Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes.

• Job Applications / Recommendations. 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.