In X's (formerly Twitter) new updated privacy policy, the social media platform intends to collect biometric data pertaining to users, saying: "Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes". 

Although X does not clarify what it means by biometrics, other companies have defined it as data derived from a person's face, eyes, and fingerprints.

An X representative confirmed the policy update but no further details were given. Social media companies have faced extensive criticism regarding measures like this, including advertisement implementations made to match a person’s interests and search histories.

Owner of the platform, Elon Musk, claimed previously that updates are meant to eliminate inauthentic and fake accounts while implementing an effort to get users to enroll in the blue check mark service which costs $8 per month and validates the user as human.

As part of the privacy update, X also plans on collecting and using "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".

Effective until September 29, the previous privacy policy didn’t involve references to biometric data or employment history.

Earlier this year, a proposed class action suit alleged that the platform illegally gathered, stored, and used residents' biometric data without consent in the state of Illinois. 

The suit, filed July 11, says that X "has not adequately informed individuals who have interacted (knowingly or not) with Twitter, that it collects and/or stores their biometric identifiers in every photograph containing a face that is uploaded to Twitter".