Recent revisions to X’s privacy policy have raised concerns as the social media platform now explicitly states its intention to utilize user posts for training its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The updated section 2.1 of the policy reads, “We may use the information we collect and publicly available information to help train our machine learning or artificial intelligence models for the purposes outlined in this policy.”
This noteworthy change came to light thanks to the vigilance of Alex Ivanovs, a contributor to Stackdiary, who has been closely monitoring privacy policy updates, including similar alterations affecting Zoom users in recent months.
In response to a post by X News Daily, an X account focused on X-related news, Elon Musk, CEO of X, confirmed that the data used for training AI models is limited to public information and does not include direct messages (DMs) or any private content.
For years, consumers have been reminded that when a service is free, they themselves might be the product. This holds true for X users, who now find themselves contributing their data to help train the platform’s AI models.
While many users may find this an acceptable trade-off for the free use of the platform, questions have arisen regarding the privacy of X Premium (formerly known as Twitter Blue) users. It remains unclear whether X Premium subscribers are subject to the same data usage terms as standard users or if they receive enhanced privacy protections.
Ivanovs also pointed out Elon Musk’s latest venture, xAI, which is in its early stages and states its goal as “understanding the true nature of the universe.” Musk has indicated that more information about xAI will be shared later this year. Although a separate entity from X Corp, the company behind the social media platform, xAI’s website suggests close collaboration with Musk’s other companies, including X and Tesla. Ivanovs speculates that X data may eventually be used by xAI for training purposes as well.
Contacting X for comments remains a challenge, as the platform’s press email continues to generate automated replies in the form of a poop emoji, due to the absence of real press representatives.
