Twitter has suffered multiple glitches in the past months, and now, the company finally broke its silence regarding a bug with Twitter Circle. It admitted that the glitch was the result of “a security incident that occurred earlier this year.”
For those who need a reminder, back in April, multiple users discovered that the tweets shared to their private Twitter Circles were made public, enabling strangers to read their semi-private tweets. At that time, Twitter remained mum on the matter – and requests for comment on the matter went unanswered due to Twitter’s press and public relations team being fired. Now, the social media company has finally commented on the issue, revealing that the privacy breach was due to a “security incident.”
Confirmed someone I'm not even following was able to see a private Twitter Circle tweet (thank you @TheSahilDev)
This hurts trust in the platform a lot. Should be top priority @TwitterEng pic.twitter.com/BCYPkikJ2p
— Theo – t3.gg (@t3dotgg) April 8, 2023
The company acknowledged the development that was sent to the impacted users, which was later seen by Fortune and The Guardian. The response from the company is long overdue, given that it has been weeks since the incident occurred and users were affected. For now, the company claims that the issue was identified by its security team and “immediately fixed.” “Twitter is committed to protecting the privacy of the people who use our service, and we understand the risks that an incident like this can introduce and we deeply regret this happened,” the company wrote in the email.
Twitter added that it has conducted a “thorough investigation” to understand how the incident occurred, and invited users to visit its Public and Protected Tweets page.
For those who are unaware, Twitter Circle is a private group of Twitter followers with whom users can share tweets that are not intended for all followers to view or comment. The feature was released last year and acted as an alternative to Instagram’s Close Friends feature. With Twitter Circle, users can add a select few friends and curate their Twitter Circle list based on their preferences.
The implications of this glitch are severe. The fact that private tweets about personal information, such as a person’s home address, phone number, or email address could be seen by strangers puts the individuals at risk of identity theft or cyberstalking. Additionally, tweets shared within Twitter Circles could also contain sensitive information about an individual’s personal life, which could be used to cause harm. Additionally, the glitch could cause problems for businesses and organizations that use Twitter for internal communication. If sensitive information, such as financial data or trade secrets, were inadvertently shared with the public, it could have serious consequences.
In short, the incident highlights the importance of online privacy and the need for greater awareness of the risks associated with sharing personal information online. As technology continues to advance and social media platforms become more integrated into our daily lives, it is imperative that companies take the necessary steps to protect user privacy and ensure that their data is secure. In addition, users should be mindful of the information they share online and take precautions to protect their personal information.
