Elon Musk’s Twitter is working on plans to force some users to agree to location data sharing or lose access to the social media app, Platformer is reporting (via Business Insider).
Twitter currently lets users opt out of personalized ads, but this option could soon disappear as the company continues to evolve in a bid to save its ad business.
Although the majority of Twitter users never turn this feature off, the company is considering forcing users to share more data, including user locations and phone numbers, which can then be sold to advertisers.
The source notes that Twitter would implement the new rules “by presenting a full-screen notification which can’t be dismissed until users agree to share their data, and there would then be no chance to opt-out.”
The feature would be reportedly rolled out to about 1% of U.S. users to see their reactions, before expanding it to all Twitter accounts.
Platformer reports that Twitter is working on the feature because Twitter Blue could actually lose the company money. The $8 monthly subscription allows users to see half as many ads, which is estimated to cost Twitter $6 in revenue. On Tuesday, Musk tweeted that the company would later introduce a higher tier with no ads.
Twitter’s latest plans could also hit a snag in Europe because EU rules say that users have the legal right to withdraw data-sharing permissions at any time.
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He’s doing a great job of destroying his one digital only enterprise, so Elon’s masterclass on how to lose $44 billion dollars in under a year continues …
I can tell you what my reaction would be, which would be to “opt out” by whatever means necessary.
All rumours and anonymous sources.
Given various privacy laws and that Apple doesn’t allow apps to force this, it seems very doubtful Musk would try.