Threads privacy concerns are becoming a hot topic with many users worried about the social platform’s data collection policy. Many of these issues parallel concern with Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, which can collect a lot of information from its users including metadata, facial recognition, passwords, geolocation data, and address book contacts. Threads also collects a lot of personal data that some might find uncomfortable. Here’s what you need to know about Threads data collection and why its privacy policy is controversial.
Why are Threads privacy concerns controversial?
Threads privacy concerns are controversial due to how much data it collects. In fact, the app has not yet launched in European regions, because the EU has not yet approved it due to its strict data privacy rules.
According to the Threads Supplemental Privacy Policy, the platform collects information on your name, email address, activity, posts, and ways that followers and other users interact with your profile. This includes third-party services and users, particularly info on your username, profile picture, and IP address.
Threads will also collect and receive information about the devices you use to access the platform including how you use them. This data is then shared with other users and third-party services that connect to your Threads profile.
Meta says that the company uses the data it collects mainly to improve the user experience on its platforms. But through information provided about the app’s privacy through mandatory disclosures required on iOS, Threads also pulls rather sensitive material like a user’s financial data, health, and search history via cookies.
Meta’s Facebook gathers user data so that it can sell targeted ads to its audience, but as reported by TechCrunch, the company was forced to pay over $400 million in privacy fines by the EU. So it’s not too surprising that the EU is hesitant in accepting Threads due to similar privacy concerns.
On a similar note, users should know about Threads censorship and NSFW policy before they start posting on the platform.
