Last month, Twitter users claimed that a flaw in “Twitter Circle” exposed their tweets to those outside the circle. Now, nearly a month later, the social media company has reportedly acknowledged that the exposure of private tweets was caused by “a security incident that occurred earlier this year.”
According to an email seen by The Guardian, Twitter informed affected users that the tweets sent to ‘close contacts’ were the result of “a security incident” that was “immediately fixed.” It also expressed regret to afflicted consumers.
The company was quoted as saying, “Twitter is committed to protecting the privacy of the people who use our service, and we understand the risks that an incident like this can introduce. We deeply regret that this occurred.”
It was reported last month that some tweets intended for “Twitter Circle” users were visible to those outside the circle. It meant that if you shared information on Twitter that was intended only for a specific group, it would also be visible to others.
What exactly is Twitter Circle?
Twitter Circle was introduced in 2013 as the microblogging platform’s answer to Facebook Groups.
When a user selects Instagram’s ‘Closed Friends’ story feature, messages will be shared with a “smaller audience” – only with the designated followers. No one else can see them or will learn that there is a story that is not intended to be viewed by everyone.
Additionally, only members of the “Close Friends” group can interact with or reply to this post.
When a ‘private post’ (Twitter or Instagram story) is published, a green circle indicates its exclusivity. In Twitter’s case, the green circle did not appear, and those who posted the ‘private’ label did not see it.
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‘ were unaware that their private messages were made public.
