As a business owner, social media should be a big part of how you market your business. More than 330 million people use Twitter every month, so it’s a great way to reach a lot of people. But like any other platform, Twitter can have bugs and other problems that could make your account less safe. In this article, we’ll talk about the Twitter Circle Bug, what it is, and what you can do to make sure it doesn’t hurt you or your business.
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What is the Twitter Circle Bug?
Late in the year 2020, a security flaw called the Twitter Circle Bug was found. It is a security flaw that lets bad people add Twitter accounts to their Circle without the account owner’s knowledge or permission. The Circle is a feature on Twitter that lets people make private groups and share tweets with a small group of people. The Circle Bug lets attackers add themselves to a Circle and see private tweets and information without the account owner knowing.
How Does the Twitter Circle Bug Work?
The Twitter Circle Bug works by taking advantage of a flaw in the Twitter Circles feature. When someone adds an account to their Circle, the account owner usually gets a notification, and they have to approve the request before the new member can see their private tweets.
Also Read: Instructions to Interface Numerous Twitter Accounts in Your Tweetdeck
But because of the Circle Bug, attackers can get around this approval process and add themselves to a Circle without the account owner knowing. To take advantage of the Circle Bug, attackers make a new Circle and add the account they want to attack to it.
Then, they add their own account to the Circle. This triggers the bug and gives them access to the other account’s private tweets and information. The person whose account was hacked doesn’t know about it and has no idea that their private information has been stolen.
How to Protect Yourself From the Twitter Circle Bug?
Even though Twitter has since fixed the Circle Bug, you should still take steps to protect yourself from other security flaws like it. Here are a few things you can do to keep your Twitter account safe:
Use Strong and Unique Passwords
Your Twitter password should be hard to guess and different from everyone else’s. Don’t make your password “password123” or “123456.” Use a mix of capital letters, small letters, numbers, and special characters.
Set Up Two-step Verification
When you use two-factor authentication, your Twitter account is even safer. With two-factor authentication, you’ll get a code on your phone or through an app that you’ll need to enter before you can log in to your account.
Be Careful With Apps Third Party Apps
Be careful about which third-party apps you let into your Twitter account. Only give access to real apps that you know and trust.
Keep Your Account Private
If you don’t want other people to see your tweets or follow you, make sure your account is private. So, only the people you choose can follow you and see what you tweet.
Update Your Software Regularly
Make sure that your device’s software and the Twitter app both have the latest versions. Updates often include security fixes that stop bugs like the Circle Bug from causing problems.
Also Read: How to Remove Followers on Twitter Using Mobile or Desktop
In the end, the Twitter Circle Bug is a major security flaw that could put your private information at risk. Even though Twitter has since fixed the issue, you should still take steps to keep bugs like this from affecting your account. If you use the tips in this article, you can keep your Twitter account safe.
When Was the Twitter Circle Bug First Noticed?
When Twitter Circles came out in August 2022, users were told they would have “the freedom to choose, Tweet by Tweet, who can see and interact with their content.” In a blog post about the new feature, the company said that limiting who can see posts “makes it easier to have more intimate conversations and build closer connections with select followers.”
Belong To, an Irish group that helps young LGBTQ+ people, was one of the people who liked Circles. The group liked the feature because it “gives Twitter users more control over how they look online and makes them feel safe expressing themselves.”
After eight months and one change of ownership, the safe parts of Circles seem to have broken. Several users are telling people who use the feature in public that their supposed private posts, which are often nudes, are getting into the main For You feed, which is Twitter’s algorithmically driven homepage.
A Twitter user named @IanColdwater shared his episode and said that he had made a Twitter Circle with just one member and posted something about science in it. He found out that two people he didn’t know liked his tweet. On Twitter, he follows a lot of people, but one of them doesn’t follow him.
“I added one person to a Twitter Circle and tweeted about science. This is what took place. Two people who don’t follow me saw and liked the tweet. One of these people also doesn’t listen to me. Circles on Twitter are not a secret. Don’t put anything you want to keep a secret in them “He tweeted about it.
In May of last year, Twitter told people about its Circle feature. But by August, users could use the feature. The idea behind Twitter Circle is that certain tweets should be shared with people who think or care about the same things. This feature of Twitter could be a good way to talk to people.
Conclusion
With Twitter Circle, you can share your thoughts with a smaller group of people. Twitter says this about this feature: “You choose who is in your Twitter Circle, and only those people can reply to and interact with Tweets you share in the Circle.”
Also Read: How to Hear Twitter New Sound Using Mobile App or Desktop
Twitter circle is no longer a good way to talk to small groups of people because of this new bug. But only people in the circle can retweet or reply to these posts. Anyone can like or look at them. At least for now, you shouldn’t think that your Twitter Circle tweets will only be seen by a small group of close friends.
People have found a bug that lets some private posts be seen by people outside of Circle. People who follow the account often see them in their “For You” suggestions, but some people say that the content is reaching people who don’t follow the account.
As you might guess, that could be a problem if you want to avoid harassment or are talking about something sensitive. Since Twitter doesn’t have a PR team anymore, it can’t say anything. Theo Brown, who made Twitter, told TechCrunch that tweets might not be taken out of Circles before they are shared with other users.
