published: 2023-10-23
Social Media Data Collection
Currently, it is difficult to find a person who is not exposed to the reach of social networks. They have become popular for their ease of use and their speed and effectiveness in spreading a message.
Unfortunately, this same convenience has also made us, as users, careless about the amount of information that social media platforms collect about us and what they can do with it, or what a malicious third party could do if they were to gain access to it.
Next, we will outline the data that some of these platforms collect about us, what they do with it, and why this could pose a danger to our privacy and, potentially, our personal or family security.
Discord
We need to start with Discord because it's the communication app we use "at home."
Discord is very useful for managing a large community on a wide range of topics, but it's just as guilty as many others of benefiting from our personal information.
Data Discord Stores
According to its privacy policy, Discord collects the following information about us:
- Text messages (including drafts), voice messages, cover images for live streams, friends you add or users you interact with, games you play, the servers or communities you're registered in, purchases or sales you make through the app, and the decisions you make when moderating content.
They do not store your videos or the video of your live streams, although they leave the door open to changing this decision in the future.
They also automatically collect certain information, such as the IP address from which you connect, the browser you use, and your operating system.
How They Use It
Most of the things they do with our data could be considered justifiable, such as improving the user experience, offering a more personalized experience, and maintaining community standards. However, they can also use your data to promote their services, and they may even share some of it with third parties to promote their services or analyze company growth.
They also claim they can use the information to provide it to any authority that may request it through a court order.
Like Discord, Twitter stores a good amount of information on its servers. It also saves direct messages, who you follow, and who you interact with (saved posts, favorites), and in fact, their policies are quite similar, including sharing your data with third parties and authorities.