“Path bills itself as a social network that cares about privacy. For a while it was also an App Store outlaw,” Adam Satariano and Douglas MacMillan report for Businessweek.
“When iPhone users downloaded it through Apple’s popular storefront, the software surreptitiously sent a user’s entire contacts list—including e-mail addresses, names, and phone numbers—to the company’s servers,” Satariano and MacMillan report. “That wasn’t just creepy, it was a violation of Apple’s rules. An engineer in Singapore revealed the transgression on his blog in February, and Path co-founder Dave Morin got hauled into Apple’s headquarters to be grilled by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and other executives, according to people familiar with the meeting but not authorized by Apple (AAPL) to discuss it.”
Satariano and MacMillan report, “As the Path controversy unfolded, it became clear that several other popular apps uploaded contacts as well.”
Read more in the full article here.
Notice, unlike Google, Apple did not do this. In fact, Apple chased down and stopped the companies that violated the agreement and shut them down. This would be like blaming Ford for cars that exceed the speed limit and brake the law.
Your data is safe with Apple!
+1!
I think you meant “pass by the law”! I’m still chuckling. like +2!
Creepy. Very creepy.
We should be asking, “What else did those programs download?”
Ok. “what else did those programs download?”
Download ≠ Upload
The programs didn’t download anything. Yes, I’m a dick for posting this, but it’s a tech site and we’re getting basic fundamentals wrong.
I am liking Tim Cook more and more. Fix this now.
‘ speed limit and brake the law’
If the brakes were used the breaking of the law would not happen. Them is the brakes/breaks!
Tim Cook doesn’t screw around. When he wants something done, 5 minutes later is too late.
Fix is easy. Delete Path. Be very careful when using social networks. Reality is more fun and engaging than Facebook.
The question that should be asked is why there is no criminal charges on this company. Nobody explicitly gave then permission to upload personal data. It was theft.
What a nagging insistence of grabing user’s phone contacts and without leting user know or without user’s consent.
Sounds like something Steve would have done. I love it.