Twitter says it will begin tracking which other applications people have installed on their mobile devices in a bid to better target ads and content.

“We are collecting and occasionally updating the list of apps installed on your mobile device so we can deliver tailored content that you might be interested in,” Twitter said in a blog post on Wednesday.

Only lists of applications are being gathered, with no prying into what is being done with those mini-programs, the San Francisco-based company said.

The types of applications that Twitter users have on their phones and tablets will be used for purposes such as recommending who they might like to “follow” at the service, as well as for targeting ads spotlighted as promoted content.

Twitter users can prevent their app lists from being harvested by activating the “Limit Ad Tracking” or “Opt out of interest-based ads” features on Apple or Android mobile devices, respectively.

The tactic, which is used by some other ad-supported internet services, is being added to Twitter’s toolbox as the company strives to ramp up revenue and engagement by users.

The company said users will see a prompt informing them when the feature has been activated on their accounts.

“We will notify you about this feature being turned on for your account by showing a prompt letting you know that to help tailor your experience, Twitter uses the apps on your device. Until you see this prompt, this setting is turned off and we are not collecting a list of your apps.”

http://www.zdnet.com/twitter-to-track-installed-apps-on-smartphones-7000036196/