Bug exposed private Circle tweets to public, admits Twitter

New Delhi, May 6

A bug in Twitter exposed Circle tweets, a way to send tweets to select people and share thoughts with trusted friends, to the public users, the Elon Musk-run company has admitted.

In an email sent to Circle users, Twitter said that in April 2023, “a security incident may have allowed users outside of your Twitter Circle to see tweets that should have otherwise been limited to the Circle to which you were posting”.

Twitter said the bug has now been fixed, and the team knows what caused it, reports TechCrunch.

According to the company, “You choose who’s in your Twitter Circle, and only the individuals you’ve added can reply to and interact with the Tweets you share in the circle.” However, this was not the case with Circle users.

Several Circle users had tweeted earlier that people outside of their Circle were liking their private tweets.

“Others reported that their Circle tweets were reaching even further than those who follow them,” the report mentioned.

Circle tweets were being surfaced in the ‘For You’ timeline to users but were not in their Circle, according to some users.

The users can include up to 150 people in their Twitter Circles. An individual Twitter user can have only one Circle.

“Your friend’s Twitter Circle will not be able to see any part of the conversation unless your circles share common members,” according to Twitter.