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Several Popular Apps Share Data With Facebook Without User Consent (ft.com)

Posted by msmash on from the privacy-woes dept.

Some of the most popular apps for Android smartphones, including Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and MyFitnessPal, are transmitting data to Facebook without the consent of users in a potential breach of EU regulations. From a report: In a study of 34 popular Android apps, the campaign group Privacy International found that at least 20 of them send certain data to Facebook the second that they are opened on a phone, before users can be asked for permission. Information sent instantly included the app's name, the user's unique ID with Google, and the number of times the app was opened and closed since being downloaded. Some, such as travel site Kayak, later sent detailed information about people's flight searches to Facebook, including travel dates, whether the user had children and which flights and destinations they had searched for. European law on data-sharing changed in May with the introduction of General Data Protection Regulation and mobile apps are required to have the explicit consent of users before collecting their personal information.

9 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. I doubt anyone really cares by mschaffer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Once people get over their knee-jerk sense of outrage (if there is any), I doubt anyone will even uninstall these apps from their phones.

    1. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by mrwireless · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Give it time. Over the years people will start to understand how the data driven business model really works. That profiling is not just about personalised ads, but equally about handling you as a risk, which often means denying you opportunities such as jobs or cheap insurance. The real businessmodel of these companies is the continuous background check.

      In a few years the 'data is the new oil' narative will backfire on Silicon Valley, as the 'data as a pollutant' metaphor will become all to apt. This comparison will then lead us to ask: what is the data version of global warming?

      It's Social Cooling.

    2. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by ctilsie242 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I have already this happen. A few years ago when I was working for a different employer, I had a friend of mine take a picture of me in a store's humidor. The pictures went on Facebook. Less than a week later, I got a demand from my health insurance company to take a physical with bloodwork or pay smoker's rates.

      Already, location data from apps has been uses to spy on Tesla and other firms, tracking where employees are in the building. With tensions getting greater between nations, a person's location can potentially make or break a military initiative.

  2. The list... by Known+Nutter · · Score: 5, Informative

    Calorie Counter - MyFitnessPal
    Duolingo: Learn Languages Free
    Family Locator - GPS Tracker
    Indeed Job Search
    Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor & Pulse Checker
    KAYAK Flights, Hotels & Cars
    King James Bible (KJV) Free
    Muslim Pro - Prayer Times, Azan, Quran & Qibla
    My Talking Tom / My Talking Hank etc
    Period Tracker Clue: Period & Ovulation Calculator
    Qibla Connect® Find Direction- Prayer, Azan, Quran
    Shazam
    Skyscanner - Cheap Flights, Hotels and Car Rental (Ad Personalisation = Off)
    Skyscanner - Cheap Flights, Hotels and Car Rental (Ad Personalisation = On)
    Spotify Music
    Super-Bright LED Flashlight
    The Weather Channel: Local Forecast & Weather Maps
    TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants Attractions
    VK (vkontakte)
    Yelp
    Salatuk (Prayer time)

    Bible - Audio, Daily Verse, Study & Offline, Free
    BMI Calculator & Weight Loss Tracker
    Candy Crush Saga
    Clean Master - Antivirus, Cleaner & Booster
    Dropbox
    HP ePrint (No Longer in Google Play Store)
    Opera Browser
    Period Tracker, My Calendar
    Phone Tracker By Number
    Security Master - Antivirus, VPN, AppLock, Booster
    Skater Boy
    Speedtest by Ookla
    WeChat

    --
    Beware of the Leopard.
    1. Re:The list... by jenningsthecat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Funny how I don't seem have any of these installed, or in my library. Maybe minimal app selection hygiene is important if one cares about privacy?

      Agreed. I'm very careful about what apps I install, plus, (as you mentioned above) My phone is rooted, and I have AFWall installed. I also turn off both data and WiFi unless I'm explicitly using them.

      Having said that, we shouldn't have to jump through hoops like this to guard our privacy. Privacy should be a basic right, and it should be the default state of all our devices, OS's, and applications / programs. Privacy should NOT be the exclusive province of a) the rich and b) vigilant, technically informed people like us. As at least one other poster has said, corporate privacy violations ought to be against the law, and penalties ought to be severe - TOS be damned. That privacy invasion is not just the norm, but a common business model, is proof of how far civilization has declined. What we now call democracy is simply a bread-and-circuses cover story for the corporatocracy that in fact prevails everywhere.

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
  3. They don't care because it's in a EULA by MikeRT · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think one of the most effective privacy regs we could have would be a law that requires a plain English explanation of what data is sold or transferred to third parties, including wholly-owned subsidiaries that are operating as a separate company (ex WhatsApp and Facebook).

    No legalese, something that a person with a GED or high school degree should be able to read like this:

    "Location Data

    While your phone's location services are turned on, we will collect the GPS data related to your movements. We will use that to target you with more appropriate ads, services and products. We sell this data to Facebook, Twitter and Amazon. Other purchasers may be added later to this list."

    If it were spelled out in those terms, a lot more people would notice and care.

    1. Re:They don't care because it's in a EULA by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      More people might notice and perhaps understand, but I don't know if they'd care. They'll look at it and conclude that they trust those companies enough that they're not concerned. What they won't understand is that those companies are buying all kinds of other data and aggregating it (and then perhaps selling that aggregated data in turn) such that they have far more information about a person than that person might consider possible.

  4. The more we learn about Facebook... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... the worse Facebook looks.

  5. Laws with no teeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There needs to be penalties.

    If CEO's get some jail time this stuff will stop right now!
    There is no motivation to self police.

    They are like "Ooopsie someone made a mistake" "thats against our policy"
    Meanwhile once the cat is out of the bag it's a done deal.
    And if someone doesn't call them out they will keep on with the butt sniffing.