The micro blogging giant, Twitter on Wednesday announced that it will be collecting the list of applications installed on iOS and Android devices. Twitter clarified that it will not access any data within those applications on all its users’ mobile devices. This feature is designed to deliver tailored content that users might be interested in based on their application library. For those of us skeptical about this feature, Twitter is offering an opt-out option. Additionally, users who have opted out of internet-based ads on their devices will not be subjected to this feature.

The App Graph, as it is called, collects “who to follow” suggestions for accounts that share similar interests, add interesting Tweets, accounts, or other content to the timeline and more importantly, displaying more relevant promotional content. To help users notify about this feature, a message will be displayed on your mobile device- “to help tailor your experience, Twitter uses the apps on your device”.

To turn off this feature and remove your data, follow these simple instructions below based on your mobile device OS:

Using Twitter for Android:

• Tap the overflow icon
• Tap Settings.
• Tap the account you’d like to adjust.
• Under other, you can adjust the setting to Tailor Twitter based on my apps.

Using Twitter for iOS:

• From the me tab, tap the gear icon
• Tap Settings.
• Tap the account you’d like to adjust.
• Under Privacy, you can adjust the setting to Tailor Twitter based on my apps.

Better Targeted Ads

It is clear that mobile users are growing at a fast pace. By 2015, out of all the internet users worldwide, more than 52% will be over mobile. In order to optimize your ad budgets, you must target your audience in a personalized way. Like we said in our Black Friday infographic, 1:1 contextual marketing is the way to go and App Graph will help Twitter move in this direction.

Contact us now to learn more on how to do personalized targeting.