A comparison of what personal data Threads, Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, Spill, and Hive Social collect from users, based on their listings in Apple's App Store
Here's what personal data is collected by Meta's Threads, as well as by Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, Spill, and Hive Social.More:MakeUseOf,Techlusive,The i Paper,BetaNews,International Business Times,Rolling Stone,The Eclectic Light Company, andMarketWatchLinkedIn:David W. SimeandNeil ThackerMastodon:@McCullohMD@disabled.social,@austinkocher@mastodon.social,@tchambers@indieweb.social, and@CelloMomOnCars@mastodon …Twitter:@benedictevans,@benedictevans,@petreraleigh,@benedictevans,@benedictevans,@c
Context & Ripple Effects
Threads launched days ago off the strength of its pre-order App Store listing, and Wired has now turned those same Apple-mandated privacy labels into a side-by-side comparison of what Threads, Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, Spill, and Hive Social each collect from users. The timing matters because Threads currently runs no ads while Meta's representatives court ad agencies and brands like Netflix and Wendy's — meaning the app's disclosed data footprint previews the targeting inventory before a single ad serves.
The comparison also lands amid reporting that Threads runs a largely replicated Instagram algorithm prioritizing creators' posts over hard news, so the privacy labels are effectively a window into how much of Instagram's data apparatus carries over to the new app.
First-order effects
- Users choosing among the six Twitter alternatives get a standardized, install-time signal for comparing privacy costs — with Meta's Threads label revealing collection practices tied to its Instagram-linked account system.
Second-order effects
- As Meta pitches brands on an ad-free app ahead of monetization, the breadth of its disclosed data collection doubles as evidence to advertisers that Threads can support targeted campaigns from day one, while Bluesky and Mastodon's leaner labels give them a privacy differentiation pitch.
Third-order effects
- If buyers keep consulting them, Apple's App Store privacy labels harden into the default comparison surface for consumer apps — shifting competition among social platforms toward trust and data minimization rather than feature checklists alone.
The trend: App Store privacy disclosures are becoming the standard yardstick against which new social platforms are judged at launch, forcing Meta's rivals to compete on data minimization as well as product.