Twitter says it may have used private data for ads without users’ permission

Twitter announced Tuesday it may have shared users’ data with advertisers and used it for personalized advertisements without permission.

The platform said in a statement that if users clicked or viewed an ad for a mobile application and subsequently interacted with the app since May 2018 the tech giant may have shared data with advertising partners without permission. The information included country code, if a user engaged with the ad and when, information about the ad and more. 

{mosads}Twitter said it may have also showed users ads based on inferences about the devices they use without permission.

The company said the issues were resolved Monday and that an investigation is underway to determine which users were impacted.

“You trust us to follow your choices and we failed here. We’re sorry this happened, and are taking steps to make sure we don’t make a mistake like this again,” Twitter said, adding that it will share any useful information stemming from its probe.

The problems stemmed from settings on the website that Twitter said “may not have worked as intended.”

The privacy of users’ data has become a focal point of scrutiny surrounding social media platforms, particularly after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica harvested data from millions of people’s Facebook profiles and used it for political advertising purposes.