If you thought your data remains yours alone on Threads, think again.
The App Privacy section of Threads’ App Store page lists all the ways in which Threads is tracking you(opens in a new tab) and using your data. Reader, the list is very, very long.
Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter, launched on Thursday, apparently amassing more than 10 million users in the first seven hours of its existence.
For a complete list of how Threads may be collecting and using your data, hit the “See Details” link under the App Privacy section on the App Store page(opens in a new tab). But the short version is: Threads is collecting almost everything it can, including data on your health, purchases, financial info, location, contact info, search history, and browsing history.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey noticed this and shared the Threads App Privacy section in a tweet. Twitter’s current owner, Elon Musk, replied with a simple “yeah.”
It doesn’t come as big surprise. The amount and breadth of data that Threads collects is similar to its sister app, Instagram(opens in a new tab) (both Threads and Instagram are owned by Meta, which also owns Facebook).
Other major social media apps, including Twitter, also collect user data and use it to better serve ads from third-party companies. Twitter’s App Privacy(opens in a new tab) page has a similar, albeit a little shorter, list of all the ways in which the company uses its users’ data.
Still, it’s somewhat disappointing to have to hand over troves of your data to what is essentially a Twitter clone. Jack Dorsey’s BlueSky, another Twitter clone that’s currently invite-only, says it’s working on ways(opens in a new tab) to generate revenue without relying on third-party ads as much as its competitors.