In a move that is likely to benefit internet marketing specialists, a social media firm is to keep tabs on what apps users have downloaded to their handheld devices.
However, the new App Graph service that is being introduced by Twitter has already come under fire for concerns over privacy. To allay such fears, the social platform has insisted that it will only monitor the names of apps that have been installed, rather than collecting any user data associated with the various software.
The information gathered by App Graph will be used to better target news feed adverts, by building up a greater understanding of each user’s preferences. This will help with the monetisation of the social media service, as Twitter will be able to charge more for the adverts that sufficiently match the audience profile.
From the viewpoint of the platform’s users, the feature is aiming to bring about a more personalised experience. Twitter added that it will be able to deliver tailored content through the initiative that could be of more interest to the user, as well as suggesting other Twitter accounts they may want to follow.
At the moment, this is not a mandatory feature, with users having the ability to opt out of App Graph by altering their settings. Any people who have already chosen to have targeted ads limited on the platform will have the feature automatically switched off.
While the feature has already been activated for iOS devices, it is expected to be launched for Android smartphones next week.
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