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Twitter launches privacy center to explain what it's actually doing with your data

The privacy center is meant to be an accountability tool, according to Twitter.

Shelby Brown Editor II
Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also oversees Tech Tips coverage. Before joining CNET, she covered app news for Download.com and served as a freelancer for Louisville.com.
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  • She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
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Twitter aims to be more transparent about its privacy practices. 

Angela Lang/CNET

Twitter  on Monday launched a privacy center, admitting it has "room for improvement" when it comes to protecting user privacy. The Twitter Privacy Center plans to spell out more clearly what the social media giant is doing to safeguard the information users share with the site. Twitter also said in a series of tweets that it's updating its terms and privacy policy, which go into effect Jan. 1. 

"We believe companies should be accountable to the people that trust them with their personal information, and responsible not only to protect that information but to explain how they do it," according to a company blog post.

The privacy center is designed to be a home base that hosts information about privacy-related initiatives, announcements, new privacy products, communication about security incidents, and more. 

Twitter also updated its privacy policy in April 2018 to comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR. The social media site has come under scrutiny in the past for privacy practices. In October, Twitter said it had discovered that users' email addresses and phone numbers meant for security "may have inadvertently been used for advertising purposes." And two months before that, the site said it may have shared user data with third parties.