Twitter released a new browser game on Wednesday that’s intended to help explain some of its privacy settings. You can play the game, called Twitter Data Dash, right here.
“Welcome to PrivaCity!” reads a description of the game on the site. “Get your dog, Data, safely to the park. Dodge cat ads, swim through a sea of DMs, battle trolls, and learn how to take control of your Twitter experience along the way.”
When you start Twitter Data Dash, which was made by Momo Pixel, you’ll first pick the language you want to play in, and then pick from one of four characters who will accompany Data the dog on a couple of the levels. (That character will otherwise appear in text boxes.) The game itself is a pretty straightforward side-scrolling platformer. Each level is themed around what I can best describe as Twitter Things — one features cats wearing ad boards, another has you avoiding trolls — and your goal is to collect five bones as quickly as you can.
If you get the bones, the game will explain something about Twitter’s privacy settings related to that level and even offer a button linking to Twitter’s settings. When you beat the cat ad level, for example, you’ll see a message about how Twitter customizes your experience on the platform and points to where you can turn personalized ads on or off.
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The game has a delightful pixel art aesthetic. There are, of course, many shades of blue throughout the game, and I’m a huge fan of the character designs. (The location pin characters in one level are just great.) Platforming can be clunky, but the game is forgiving enough that it’s not too hard to attempt a tough jump a few times.
Twitter introduced the game as part of a bigger push around its privacy policy, which the company has rewritten. “We’ve emphasized clear language and moved away from legal jargon,” Twitter said on its Safety account. “Beginning today, you can see the updates to our privacy policy and terms of service in the app via settings and on our redesigned privacy policy site.”
So what’s different? We’ve emphasized clear language and moved away from legal jargon.
Beginning today, you can see the updates to our privacy policy and terms of service in the app via settings and on our redesigned privacy policy site.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) May 11, 2022
That being said, much of Twitter’s future is uncertain given that the company has accepted Elon Musk’s buyout offer. While he hasn’t said anything specific about plans to change Twitter’s privacy policies, Musk does intend to loosen Twitter’s moderation policies, among other things.
wazup.