X, formerly known as Twitter, has recently updated its data collection policy, venturing into new territories of user information. The social media platform has revised its guidelines to now encompass biometric information and a user’s job and education history. This strategic shift places X among a growing roster of companies that are actively expanding their data collection pools.

Although the Elon Musk-owned platform has not explicitly detailed what specific elements it considers to be biometric data, industry standards suggest this could include information derived from faces, eyes, and fingerprints. X’s privacy policy page clearly states, “Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes.” Beyond identification, X plans to leverage the collected job and education history data to provide users with tailored job recommendations. The site elaborates, “We may collect and use your personal information (such as your employment history, educational history, employment preferences, skills and abilities, job search activity and engagement, and so on) to recommend potential jobs for you.” It is also important to note that these personal details are cited as prerequisites for accessing many of X’s evolving products and services.

This expansion of X’s data collection practices comes at a time of heightened global scrutiny over data privacy. Ironically, the platform is facing its own legal challenges; a class-action lawsuit was filed against X Corp in July 2023, accusing the company of collecting, storing, and utilizing data from Illinois residents without their explicit permission. Furthermore, Elon Musk himself had previously teased Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, regarding the data collection policies of Threads, Meta’s newly-launched social media site. This sentiment was echoed by Twitter’s former owner, Jack Dorsey, who posted a screenshot of Threads' intended data collection with the caption “All your threads belong to us,” to which Musk simply responded “Yeah.”

The broader context of growing data privacy concerns is significant. While the proliferation of social media platforms has undoubtedly provided users with new avenues for building personal brands, connecting with others, and accessing information, the methods these companies employ for collecting user data remain a long-standing contentious issue. A prominent example of regulatory action occurred in May 2023, when European Union regulators mandated Meta to pay a substantial €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) fine for breaches of EU privacy laws. The European Data Protection Board determined that Meta had unlawfully transferred data belonging to European Facebook users to its servers in the United States, thereby violating the region’s stringent data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

As X continues to broaden its data collection policy, many eyes will be watching closely to ensure the site operates within legal and ethical boundaries. Since acquiring the company, Elon Musk has been progressively transforming the microblogging platform into an “Everything app” through a series of new features. This includes the beta product XHiring, which aims to challenge LinkedIn as a leading job marketplace. Recently, X also announced its decision to permit political advertisements on the platform. Given Musk’s known penchant for disruption, further innovative features and changes are anticipated for X.