Ben Bold
Oct 10, 2019

Twitter 'sorry' for inadvertently leaking user info to advertisers (again)

Admission of error by social network comes just two months after previous mess-up.

Twitter: 'We’re very sorry this happened'
Twitter: 'We’re very sorry this happened'

Twitter has apologised for inadvertently sharing people's phone numbers and email addresses with advertisers, just two months after it made a similar mistake.

The social network said in a statement that is has "recently discovered that when you provided an email address or phone number for safety or security purposes (for example, two-factor authentication) this data may have inadvertently been used for advertising purposes".

The fault applied specifically to Twitter's tailored audiences and partner audiences ad system. The former allows advertisers to target ads to consumers based on their own marketing lists, while the latter allows advertisers to use the same targeting features with consumer data garnered via third parties.

"When an advertiser uploaded their marketing list, we may have matched people on Twitter to their list based on the email or phone number the Twitter account holder provided for safety and security purposes. This was an error and we apologise."

While Twitter said it does not know how many people were hit by the data leak, it added that as of 17 September it had addressed the issue and is "no longer using phone numbers or email addresses collected for safety or security purposes for advertising".

On 8 August, Twitter apologised after revealing more bugs on its platform that meant data was shared with advertisers without permission.

The latest apology said: "We’re very sorry this happened and are taking steps to make sure we don’t make a mistake like this again."

A version of this story first appeared in Campaign UK.

Source:
Campaign UK

Related Articles

Just Published

12 hours ago

Creative Minds: Jereek Espiritu pushes his ideas to ...

An intervention by a computer repairman drove Jereek Espiritu away from a career flying helicopters to a world of creative leaps and flights of fancy.

12 hours ago

UM launches Full Colour Media with a focus on ...

Full Colour Media is underpinned by a body of custom research conducted with more than 10,000 brands and with 5 million data points, culminating in a ‘Brand Patterns’ proprietary model designed to grow and differentiate brands.

14 hours ago

Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards 2024: ...

With the final entry deadline for Agency of the Year Global fast approaching, we speak to judges who share their views on the biggest opportunities and challenges for 2025, and what they hope to see in winning entries.

14 hours ago

The 'laziest influencer' makes cleaning effortless—l...

S.C. Johnson's new mold-cleaning campaign features their least energetic spokesperson ever—a sloth whose main qualification is mastering the art of minimal effort.