O WHAT A TANGLED WEB THEY WEAVE

July 12, 2023 -Durt Fibo

Here is what is known of how the new Threads app works in the dark, as of this writing. As I wrote on July 6, this thing is not even allowed in the European Union. Via the core (and requisite) Instagram settings, Threads has options for its users to manage or delete their information from the app. But with both Instagram and Threads, this amounts to users having that much control in their profile and, to a degree, in what information is public, but the functions do not control what data the corporate entity collects.

After six days on the market, most users should have noticed that Threads has its own “supplemental” privacy policy. In addition to explaining that one can only delete one’s Threads profile by deleting the Instagram account, the policy says Threads collects its users’ profile information, their activity and content on the app, and information about the people and communities they interact with.

In contrast, Threads does allow third-party services or sites to access some user data even without oversight by Meta. I emphasize this because Threads is roughly considered to be more regulated than Meta’s other products, such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Portal. By tangling with Threads, users have less control over their data and may never know where it ends up.

In its general privacy policy -which applies to all Meta concoctions- Meta lays out a long list of data it collects from users when one engages with its products. Beyond being able to access the users’ public content, the company can access their camera to collect data on its usage, unencrypted messages sent and received, interactions with ads and website content, the length of time one spends on the apps, and the users’ specific device details.

If one engages in financial transactions, Meta collects the users’/buyers’ card number and details, billing, shipping, contact details, what one purchases, plus “other account and authentication information.”

Threads can also collect personal demographics, including education level, race, pregnancy status, various health data, and “sensitive data,” which, according to the Apple store’s definition, may include”religious or philosophical beliefs.”

Whether actively on or off Meta products, some information on Threads is visible to the entire internet, like -per social media’s degraded standards- the username, name, profile photo. Worse, since Threads is “integrated” with third-party services, those services can access a still undetermined range of one’s data, including posts, IP addresses, and online activity like comments or interactions with other users.

By the nature of this integration, information sent or shared with a third party is not controlled by Meta and is subject to whatever guardrails said third party may or may not have. Examples are: other service providers to the third-party company, shareholders, and a patchwork of vendors. With such scant control of which third parties are collecting one’s data, or what they might wish to do with it, users will not truly know the contents of their ransacked data or where it will be stored within the overall internet.