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Twitter admits it used info shared for security to target ads

If you provided an email address or phone number to Twitter for two-factor authentication, Twitter may have used that data to target ads.

Twitter admits it used info shared for security to target ads
[Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images]

Twitter said on Tuesday that it inadvertently helped advertisers target ads using personal data users provided for account security.

The company said in a statement on its blog that the data used for targeting included email addresses and phone numbers—information likely provided by users to set up two-factor authentication protection for their accounts.

In its statement posted today, Twitter said the personal data in question was used in the “Tailored Audiences” feature it offers advertisers. That feature is similar to Facebook’s “Custom Audiences,” which allows advertisers to upload their own customer lists to find groups of similar prospective customers on the social media site.

“We cannot say with certainty how many people were impacted by this, but in an effort to be transparent, we wanted to make everyone aware,” the statement reads. “No personal data was ever shared externally with our partners or any other third parties.” The statement said the targeting was an error, and offered an apology.

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It wasn’t long ago—August 6 to be exact—that Twitter reported that it might have shared data on people who clicked ads for mobile apps since May 2018 with advertisers and analytics firms, without gaining permission from users. Last year, Facebook also confirmed that it used information provided for two-factor authentication to target ads, as Twitter has now acknowledged doing.

About the author

Fast Company Senior Writer Mark Sullivan covers emerging technology, politics, artificial intelligence, large tech companies, and misinformation. An award-winning San Francisco-based journalist, Sullivan's work has appeared in Wired, Al Jazeera, CNN, ABC News, CNET, and many others.

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  • 9:00 am

Inflation update: These items just got more expensive for people shopping online

You’re not imagining it. Online shopping is becoming more expensive.

Inflation update: These items just got more expensive for people shopping online
[Image: Vadim Sazhniev/iStock]

You’re not imagining it. Online shopping is becoming more expensive. That’s according to the latest Adobe Digital Economy Index (DEI) report. Adobe’s DEI tracks the prices of consumer goods purchased online much like the Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks the prices of goods bought in traditional stores. Each index, in other words, tracks inflation.

And for years, the DEI showed that online prices generally became cheaper year after year thanks, in part, to lower overheads, increased competition, and a glut of availability of the products sold online. But COVID-19 changed all that as consumers rushed to switch their shopping habits from the brick-and-mortar world to the digital one. With that change came a surge in demand and supply-chain constraints, according to Adobe, which leads to either a rise in goods bought online or a deceleration in their trend to become cheaper over time.

Of the 18 categories tracked by Adobes DEI, 12 of them saw increased prices in July 2021 compared to a year earlier. Apparel was the worst hit, with prices rising 15.26% (compared to an average annual 1.08% decrease YOY in years before the pandemic). Nonprescription drugs were another category that saw a massive price hike, rising 5.66% in July 2021. Sporting goods, books, and flowers, and related gifts also saw price rises of 3.54%, 2.26%, and 1.91%, respectively.

But the news gets worse. While Adobe’s DEI showed six of the 18 categories it tracks did see YOY price decreases in July 2021, those annual decreases didn’t reduce as much in cost as in previous years. For example, while computers saw an average annual decrease in price of 9.24% in the years before the pandemic, that decrease slowed to only 6.97% YOY in July 2021. Likewise, toys bought online historically saw an average annual decline in price of 5.54% in the years before the pandemic, but since then toys’ price declines have slowed to only 4.05%.

When all the categories are taken as a whole, online prices went up 3.1% YOY in July 2021. And unfortunately, Adobe sees this trend continuing. “With online shopping becoming more ubiquitous, and consumers getting more accustomed to ordering everyday staples through eCommerce, we expect online inflation will continue to rise and be in closer sync with offline prices,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights, said.

About the author

Michael Grothaus is a novelist, journalist, and former screenwriter. His debut novel EPIPHANY JONES is out now from Orenda Books. You can read more about him at MichaelGrothaus.com

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