Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform, X, introduced changes in its privacy policy to allow the collection and storage of users’ biometric data, as well as their employment and education history. 

Biometric data refers to the unique characteristics of an individual such as fingerprints, facial recognition, voice recognition, behavioural biometrics and more. The collection of this information is hotly contested since, unlike credit card numbers, biometric data cannot be replaced once compromised

“Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes,” read the privacy policy update. The new measures are scheduled to go into effect on 29 September. 

These changes also come on the backdrop of a class action lawsuit which was proposed in July of this year against X, accusing it of stealing biometric data without consent from users. 

While the policy change statement does not include exactly what kind of biometric data will be collected, Elon Musk did confirm X will soon offer video and audio calls. 

Video & audio calls coming to X:

– Works on iOS, Android, Mac & PC
– No phone number needed
– X is the effective global address book

That set of factors is unique.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 31, 2023

While Musk claims X’s new feature is unique, other social media apps such as Meta’s messenger offers similar services.

Meta also had been collecting biometric data on its users in the form of facial recognition since 2010. They since shut down the project in 2021 over societal concerns around the technology.

A representative from X had confirmed the new data collection plans to Bloomberg but did not go further into detail about the scope and purpose of its collection. 

The new policy will also begin collecting employment, education, and job search history. This appears to be a move which will contribute to X’s new hiring tool, which is currently in a beta version available to select organizations. 

“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, to share with potential employers when you apply for a job, to enable employers to find potential candidates, and to show you more relevant advertising,” read the privacy policy. 

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Javvad Malik, lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4 commented on the matter, saying: “X’s plan to collect and store users’ biometric data, education, and job history raises concerns from a privacy and security standpoint. Storing such personal and sensitive information comes with great responsibility and increases the potential impact should any security incident occur. Given the potential risks and the principle of privacy and data minimisation, X’s approach doesn’t seem like a well-advised decision.”

The addition of video calls and job search functionality, Musk is also pushing to establish X as a payment platform for everything from crypto to peer-to-peer money exchange.

This is all part of Musk’s vision of X to become the next “everything app,” inspired by apps such as WeChat in China.