In a move to help tailor content Twitter will begin collecting information about apps that its users have installed on their mobile devices.
The feature, known as “app graph”, has been designed to allow Twitter to display more relevant advertisements and improve its suggestions on what accounts its users should follow.
According to Twitter, the “app graph”:
- Improves “who to follow” suggestions that share similar interests.
- Adds Tweets, accounts, or other content to your timeline that they think users will find interesting.
- Shows users more relevant promoted content.
The company said:
“To help build a more personal Twitter experience for you, we are collecting and occasionally updating the list of apps installed on your mobile device so we can deliver tailored content that you might be interested in.”
In terms of the specific data Twitter will be collecting the company said:
“We are only collecting the list of applications you have installed. We are not collecting any data within the applications.”
Twitter has been under increasing pressure from investors concerning its slow user growth. This move represents the San Francisco tech company’s latest attempt to try and keep current users and make it more attractive for new people to join the service.
The number of monthly active users rose 23 percent to 284 million in the third quarter, down from an increase of 24 percent in the second quarter.
The new feature could spark some concerns over account privacy.
However, Twitter has made it clear that users can choose to opt out of being tracked by “turning on “Limit Ad Tracking” on your iOS device or by adjusting your Android device settings to “Opt out of interest-based ads,”.