TWITTER HAS UPDATED its privacy policy with stronger guidelines on posting explicit photos without the subject’s consent.

As of around 10pm last night, the rules state that, as well as private information, such as credit card numbers or street addresses, you may not “publish intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject’s consent”.

The rule changes also mean the banning of ‘doxxing’ – the posting of personally identifiable information about a person which could involve harassment, shaming or vigilantism.

Buzzfeed reports Twitter said content that violates the policy will be hidden from public view and users posting it will have their accounts locked. Those users will be required to delete the content in question before being able to return to Twitter.

Users posting such content with an intent to harass will be subject to suspension from Twitter.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has previously admitted in a company-wide memo, obtained by the Verge, that Twitter “sucks” at dealing with abuse. The company has promised for the last year to put measures in place to better protect users.

It has not said it will have any technology to ensure a picture is not reposted, however. In yesterday’s announcement said it will act in response to “specific, identified instancs of content posted in violation of this policy”.

“As with other safety-related policies, Twitter is continuing to explore product solutions to allow us to act faster and more efficiently to protect our users.”

The move comes just weeks after Reddit prohibited the posting of nude photos or videos of sex acts on the message board without the permission of the people in them.

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