On Wednesday, social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) updated its Privacy Policy, announcing it will now allow third-party “collaborators” to use X data to train their AI models, unless users explicitly opt out. This move follows owner Elon Musk’s use of X data to train xAI’s Grok chatbot, which drew scrutiny from the EU’s leading privacy regulator. However, until now, the company hadn’t adjusted its policy to reflect that third parties might also use the data.
The new policy indicates that X, like Reddit and several media outlets, is exploring the potential of licensing its data to AI companies as a revenue source.
A newly added section within the Privacy Policy titled “Sharing Information” outlines how X user data may be shared and how users can opt out. Specifically, the policy states:
“Third-party collaborators. Depending on your settings, or if you choose to share your data, we may share or disclose your information with third parties. If you do not opt out, in some cases, recipients may use the information for their own independent purposes, including, for example, training artificial intelligence models, whether generative or otherwise.”
While the policy mentions users can adjust these settings on X, it doesn't specify the exact location for opting out. Currently, the “Privacy and safety” section lets users manage data-sharing with xAI’s Grok and X’s “business partners,” though these partners are described as those helping X improve its services, not external AI firms. It’s likely that these new options will become available when the updated policy takes effect on November 15.
The updated policy also removed a previous clause stating that X holds user “profile information and content for the duration of your account,” and other personally identifiable data for up to 18 months. Instead, the new version indicates that X will retain various types of information for different periods, depending on the legal and service needs. For instance, content you post or interact with will be kept for the lifetime of your account or until you remove it.
Additionally, X reminds users that even if content is deleted, it may continue to exist in copies elsewhere, as search engines or other platforms may retain it according to their own privacy policies.
In a related change, X added a new "Liquidated Damages" clause to its Terms of Service. This section states that organizations scraping X’s content will face fines. Specifically, any entity accessing over one million posts in a 24-hour period will be charged $15,000 for every additional million posts scraped.
These changes come as X looks to monetize its data amidst dwindling advertising revenue and struggles to grow its subscription service.
