“The U.S. Federal Trade Commission published a report on Monday saying that app stores like those operated by Apple and Google need to take responsibility for enhanced transparency, as there is little to no information available to parents regarding the collection and transmission of data from apps targeted at children,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.
“According to the study, kids’ apps included interactive features or shared gathered information with third parties, but failed to disclose the practices to parents in the app descriptions seen on Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android Market,” Campbell reports. “As noted by The Wall Street Journal, almost 60 percent of 400 randomly selected apps transmitted sensitive device information to developers or third parties like advertising networks and analytics firms.”
Campbell reports, “Only 20 percent of the apps studied disclosed information about possible data collection practices, 11 percent of which actually transmitted information while 9 percent did not. Data sent from the various mobile devices included geolocation information, phone numbers and device IDs.”
Read more in the full article here.
Contacts API is going to be the biggest regret of all
It’s not like anyone is going to read that shit or even care even if they do post it in the app description. It’s just going to add more useless text that no one cares about.
Hrumpf hurmpf! Because parents bear no responsibility for their children’s online activity, even if they are footing the bill for it.
Doesn’t every parent take responsibility for what their children do by vetting the apps first and putting parental controls on to not allow in-app purchases and new app purchases?
It looks like the government would like to set the minimum level of protection for children because so many parents are inept or just don’t care.
Fuck the FTC. Lazy bunch of lib garbage.
I believe this was claimed a while ago and Apple proved that that information was not shared with the app developer. I guess the needed some new FUD to throw at Apple’s stock today to slow it down and they had to dig up this old disproven crap. This is an Android problem not an iOS issue. Open verses closed app controls. Which is better for your kid? Get an Apple device and keep them safe!
I concur JT. Not only has this issue been done & dusted as far as Apple inc. is concerned, they even proved that the government wanted certain device info readily available to combat ‘terrorism & a national alert system to override all networks to allow the president to address the nation should such a need occur’. The Telcos also wanted geo-location access because in they have been mandated to monitor and improve services to device users as per above reasoning.
Have the FTC taken to employing Rip Van Winkel?
Winkle!
because they! With this number of errors, I ought to take a leaf off Rip Van Winkles book!!!
Neither is the TSA, which not only fails to protect children’s privacy, but in fact invades it.
Not only Children.
Allot of Apps in the App Store contains the SPYWARE Flurry. It’s impossible to know what App does this since its not marked. No one would accept this kind of behavior by Apps on their normal computer so why on the phone. I want to know what Apps are spying, what they transmit, to whom and the abillity to block this or I can just uninstall the App.