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Google Bans Sale of Android Spying App

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-are-you-writing-there dept.

dbune writes "Google is not letting a handset application that spies on someone's text messages be sold at its Android App Store. The Secret SMS Replicator developed by DLP Mobile to help lovers find out if their partners are cheating on them violates company policy, according to Google. The app works by secretly duplicating incoming text messages and forwarding these to another mobile phone number."

5 of 415 comments (clear)

  1. iPhone version? by ceejayoz · · Score: 4, Informative

    DLP Mobile also tried to sell the app on Apple's iPhone app store but was rejected.

    I doubt that. The iPhone walls off SMS messages from apps. Apple can't have rejected it - you can't write it.

    1. Re:iPhone version? by ceejayoz · · Score: 5, Informative

      Anyhow, it's not like Android doesn't warn you - isn't that widely approved "permission list" that it pops up going to tell you it has access to SMS and the like?

      If you have access to someone else's phone to install this spyware, you have access to approve the SMS permissions on install. The person being spied on gets no warning.

      Finally, I think it's an app that has been marketed truthfully.

      It's an app designed to be installed on someone else's phone without their consent.

  2. Re:But you can still get it, right? by Pojut · · Score: 4, Informative

    Correct, provided you don't have a carrier-locked-down Android phone that prevents you from installing apps from sources other than the official market (though that kind of thing is quite rare...I believe there are only a couple out of the myriad of Android devices set up like this.)

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  3. Re:so much for being open by cgenman · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Wii has a great system where it just records daily activity to a friendly little log, and stamps Mario's smile on it. There is no way to delete it, alter it, move it, or whatnot. And they put it in its own friendly little calendar view where file activities like faking your usage or deleting the log doesn't really come up. They've invisibly made it completely natural that the system records what you do, and that you can't do anything about it.

    --
    The ______ Agenda
  4. Re:so much for being open by index0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Unless you have a smart kid and knows that if you start the wii in maintenance mode (hold - and +, then press A at health warning screen) the games you play are not logged.