This means hundreds of users have their full legal names (inc middle names) and nationalities and emails and DOBs visible in their verification records and profile data. This includes many users without any display names (blank) or using pseudonyms.

There has been some confusion that we are happy to clarify. There is an 'ApproxBirthDate' field, and yes, this is obfuscated. And *also*, there are many real DOBs and emails also visible in the data. We can't say intentionally or accidentally.

Sorry, we should not have let that cat out of the bag. Where is the edit button???

We've been doing social media analytics for well over a decade, no other social media platform provided public age data per account like this Facebook has user_birthday but users must authorize the app to read their own data, not of any account! Have we not learned anything from Cambridge Analytica

Could it be that W Social's own behaviour and messaging has created this adversarial situation? It's sad that you can't acknowledge that W Social hasn't been a great neighbour, hasn't truly tried to embrace this community that built everything you have, and continuously taking without giving back.

i guess when your entire goal is to push something (mandatory ID verification and de-anonymisation) with a hell of a lot of political power and money behind it, it's only natural to immediately point the finger that anyone who doesn't like what you're doing must also be playing your game

Did you learn the secret handshake?

😚👌

Why wait for your database to be hacked if you can just publish private passport data to a public PDS straight away?

I'm old enough to remember when the number one rule of using the internet was to not give out your real name, address, or other important information.

This is our contention. Real consent requires a clear understanding of the implications. The atmosphere concept is new to most, and for general audiences, relatively complicated compared to previous paradigms. It is irresponsible to publish full names, nationalities and birth dates.

The real issue is people potentially having their full legal names, nationalities and actual birth dates listed publicly by W Social, creating genuine privacy and safety risks. Instead of concentrating on our identities, focus on the identities of those who may be harmed by unnecessary publication.

We’re anonymous so that people can focus on the merits of our findings, not who we are. We, like W Social users, value our privacy and have every right to choose how much of our identity we make public.