What Might Twitter's Updated Third-Party Permissions Process Mean for Social Marketers? The Balance of Power is Shifting	Visited: 1148 5.0/5.0 (1 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by John Zenith May 31, 2011

It looks as if Twitter is on a mission to avoid the privacy debacles faced by others in the social space. Due to some trademark issues and data leaks, the company told developers that it would no longer be supporting client applications such as TweetDeck, Twitterrific and UberSocial. The new privacy policy for third-party applications appears to be another effort in the plan to regain control of its ecosystem and improve the user experience. This could end up being the best thing for all parties in the end.

Privacy is a huge deal in the digital world. From Facebook to Google, even some of the biggest internet brands have found themselves at the center of controversy for their inability to keep user data private. Being a major player in the social space, Twitter has a massive following to appease, and in what appears to be another effort to do so, it has made significant changes to its third-party permissions process.

It was recently announced that the popular micro-blogging service had updated its privacy policy to give users more control over the data they share with third-party applications. As a part of the update, the site is allowing users to see which activities apps have access to and change the level of access when they feel as if their privacy is being invaded. According to a Twitter representative, these activities may consist of reading the user’s tweets, seeing who they are following, or updating their profile. Overall, the biggest take away of the policy is giving users a rundown on the specific details they are required to share with applications, and the ability to refuse if they do not feel comfortable.

Social Marketing Implications

Twitter has a robust set of APIs that allow developers to create apps that are not only capable of integrating with the platform, but enhancing its functionality. This is a terrific luxury for marketers as having your own app that people use means you also have access to their personal data and activities. Twitter’s new third-party permissions process may change this, but that doesn’t necessarily means it is a bad thing. As long as you are upfront with the data your applications require and can give a compelling explanation on why it is needed, there is a good chance that users will still provide you with access. Not to mention, the new policy can go a long way in helping social marketers avoid a privacy debacle of their own. 

The Balance of Power is Shifting

Twitter appears to following a queue from Facebook in its decision to give users more control. Facebook has changed its privacy policy quite a few times, and each update has been done with the purpose of keeping the user at ease. Among its most recent changes was one that allowed members to control the access they provide to third-party applications on the platform. The actions of Twitter and Facebook are a sign of how the balance of power is shifting more in the user’s favor. Don’t be surprised if other social networks follow in their footsteps with similar privacy policies.