X reveals security incident that made your ‘private’ likes public

2 months ago

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X, Elon Musk’s social network formerly known as Twitter, recently implemented a change that made likes private, so that only the account owner can see the posts they have liked. However, a recent security incident allowed others to still see these private likes.

User likes on X still visible after changes

In an email sent to X users seen by 9to5Mac, the platform acknowledges that the incident occurred in June 2024, shortly after the change that made likes private was implemented. According to X, there was still a way for other people to view private likes.

“The X team received information that some likes may have remained publicly available,” the company says in the email. “We have contacted you because your X account may have been potentially affected by this security incident.”

In the past, anyone could see a list of all the posts that a public X account had liked. The platform says it made the likes private because this was “encouraging the wrong behavior” among some users.

Yeah, we are making likes private.

Public likes are incentivizing the wrong behavior. For example, many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be “edgy” in fear of retaliation from trolls, or to protect their public image. Soon you’ll be able to like without worrying who might see it.

The company says it has already taken steps to ensure that likes remain private. It’s worth noting that, despite the change, the likes count remains public.

The X app is available for free on the App Store. It requires an iPhone or iPad running iOS 15 or later.