Twitter is assuming people’s gender and they aren’t very happy about it
Twitter has unveiled new tools making it easier to see what information is being collected about you.
But despite that sounding like a great idea to protect your own privacy, there is something odd about the ‘gender’ box.
If not filled in, the website has taken to assuming a gender for you, based on your profile.
“If you haven’t added a gender, this is the one most strongly associated with your account based on your profile and activity. This information won’t be displayed publicly,” the box reads.
A lot of people have taken to Twitter to express their distaste at having a gender assumed by the site.
The information is accessible via the settings page on Twitter and “Twitter data”.
Despite this, it is possible to write in a custom field what you want your gender to be displayed as.
Some used that to write things like “fuck you”.
Others criticised the site for working on this new tool while they say “Nazis” still go unpunished on the site.
One wrote: “Twitter lets you type in a gender of your choosing but “why haven’t you banned the nazis yet” doesn’t fit”
While many have taken to social media to say they don’t like Twitter collecting and assuming a gender identity for people, this is fairly common.
Many said it was upsetting for some people to find that a site had assumed a gender for them based on history.
A new online tool allows users to browse the internet without having to fill in gender questions in online forms.
The plugin comes from the organisers of Copenhagen Pride, who say that binary gender questions on forms as completely unnecessary and invasive.
Twitter earlier this year unveiled a “gender-neutral” default profile picture in order to be inclusive and reduce trolling.
Say goodbye to the infamous egg design, which became associated with the worst kind of users, providing relative anonymity for homophobes, racists and everyone else horrible to hide behind.
