OAuth and T.CO and How They Affect Twitter (And You!)
Twitter stays at the front of user privacy protection
Hello Guerilleros! Recently, the Guerilla Chefe received an email from Twitter discussing two big changes they are implementing. These improvements will be unfolded over the next couple of months. More than likely, a few of you also received the same email, but perhaps, you were a bit confused. Well, lets clear that up.
Update #1- The Rise of OAuth!
The first update is for new authorization rules for applications. This change will begin implementing OAuth, an open standard that will not require you to hand out your password to programs anymore.
Much like a valet key, OAuth gives applications very limited access to your account, so unauthorized users can’t hijack your feed. And you can control exactly how much access this key permits.
And, applications are no longer allowed to store your password. That’s great. You no longer have to worry about someone stealing your phone and gaining access to your password. And lets face it, the majority of people use the same password for almost everything, so keeping it safe is pretty important.
Update #2 – See Where You’re Going!
We comon folk will start experiencing the t.co URL wrapping. This is a n order to provide better content.great feature too. No longer will you need to fret over following a link in a Tweet. Before it even gets to you, it is screened to make sure it’s not affiliated with any sort of malware.
Plus, with the URL wrapping, you’ll actually be able to see where the link is taking you. No more clicking a link to go to amazon, and ending up at 4chan.
Also, Twitter plans to collect data on the sites we click through to, to enhance user experience. I think that is just market speak for “So we can more effectively target you with ads”.
In light of all the problems Facebook seems to have over privacy, it is nice to see a social media site trying to stay ahead of the curve. These updates, while not exactly super cool, are important, and will help protect you and your clients in the long run.