Former Twitter CEO shares warning for those wanting to move to Threads

Twitter will not back down from its battle against its upcoming competitor, Threads, once it releases for both Apple and Android devices later this week. While there’s likely many users counting the days until they can migrate away from Twitter, the social media platform’s former CEO, Jack Dorsey, has a warning for those considering the shiny new alternative.

Dorsey shared a tweet that featured the extensive list of what data Threads will be collecting. Aside from the usual information such as contacts, browsing history, and location, it also discloses its intention to collect health information, purchases, financial info, and other “sensitive info.” All this information is publicly available on Threads’ App Store page.

There is a lot to talk about when it comes to the data being collected for Threads. If you compare this list to the one that’s publicly disclosed for Twitter, it is a little less invasive than what Meta is asking for. Twitter isn’t after your health information, and it also discloses that it isn’t collecting your contact info, user content, and other data.

However, if you look at what Facebook collects on its App Store page, you can see that it is almost identical. The same can be said for Instagram, the app to which your Threads account will be linked. Knowing that over two billion users are using Facebook and Instagram, making a Threads account shouldn’t be an issue if you’re concerned about data collection.

Dorsey does have an argument to make, though, when it comes to Meta’s data collection. The company has been scrutinized on multiple occasions in regards to how data is collected. In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg had to testify to Congress over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where user data was collected without consent for political advertising. So, if you plan to migrate to Threads, just be aware that the company behind the platform will be collecting a lot of data from you.

But then again, Doresey did invest in Bluesky’s development, which is another alternative to Twitter and is still invite-only. So it makes sense as to why he wants to scare users off using Meta’s upcoming platform. As of writing, it’s still unknown when Bluesky will open its doors to the public.

Threads is set to be released on Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store on July 6, 2023.