X, formerly known as Twitter, will begin collecting users’ biometric data, according to its new privacy policy that was first spotted by Bloomberg. The policy also says the company wants to collect users’ job and education history. The policy page indicates that the change will go into effect on September 29.
“Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes,” the updated policy reads. Although X hasn’t specified what it means by biometric information, it is usually used to describe a person’s physical characteristics, such as their face or fingerprints. X also hasn’t provided any details about how it plans to collect it.
The company told Bloomberg that the biometrics are for premium users and will give them the option to submit their government ID and an image in order to add a verification layer. Biometric data may be extracted from both the ID and image for matching purposes, Bloomberg reports.