In the News
Twitter had yet another data misuse issue. In Twitter Says Bug May Have Exposed Some Direct Messages to Third-party Developers, Zack Whittaker from Tech Crunch discusses an ongoing ‘bug’ on Twitter that sent users’ Direct Messages (DMs) or private messages to developers. Whittaker states that very few Twitter users were affected by this ‘bug’ given that only messages to certain accounts were then sent to developers. It is important to note that Twitter insists that messages sent erroneously were not misused in any way and Twitter contacted those affected directly.
Our Take
Private messages and DMs are supposed to be just that, private. When sending a DM, most people only intend one person or a few people to receive the content of their message and possibly most importantly, people choose to send a message. Data misuse such as having personal DMs sent to random individuals is a violation of privacy. While it is comforting to hear that the mis-sharing of data was not widespread, the increasing occurrence of data misuse by companies used by millions is alarming. With such a high frequency of data misuse on social media platforms, understanding the weight of your simple conversations has increased value.
Recommendations
So how can you protect your privacy when utilizes social media platforms?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Never share highly confidential information such as financial of medical information through online messages, always discuss such matters in person
- Understand the legal rights and practices of companies that store your data
- Stay up to date on news regarding recent data breaches and news to see if you may have been affected