Since last Friday, a number of Twitter users have reported receiving Circle posts from people they don’t follow. These tweets have been prominently featured on the For You page, which features material chosen for you automatically. The issue is that tweets posted to a Circle shouldn’t be seen by anybody outside of that Circle.
The option to retweet the specific tweet is then removed. After clicking on the tweet, it disappears as if it were deleted. However, you may still see it if you go to the For You section. Both TechCrunch and 9to5Mac found the vulnerability, and the latter two independently confirmed it with an unnamed user who had sent a vulnerable tweet to a Circle.
This not only causes users to question Twitter’s integrity, but it also puts them at danger if they share sensitive information with their followers and a tweet about it gets leaked to the public.
Twitter established Twitter Circle as an option to enable users to share material with close friends without having to make their accounts private, thus many individuals use the feature to convey sensitive and intimate views about their life. Users of Twitter Circle must now exercise more vigilance.
