The ability to investigate content and profiles on a prominent social media platform without requiring account authentication represents a specific type of information retrieval. For example, a user may wish to ascertain information about a public figure or confirm the legitimacy of a business page before deciding to interact with it directly through their own profile.
This capability offers several advantages. It can facilitate preliminary research, protect user privacy by preventing the platform from tracking initial inquiries, and allow individuals without accounts to access publicly available information. Historically, restrictions on such access have been a subject of debate, balancing the platform’s desire to encourage account creation with the public’s interest in accessing freely available data.
