Your Apps Are Watching You

[JBeukema]

Few devices know more personal details about people than the smartphones in their pockets: phone numbers, current location, often the owner's real name—even a unique ID number that can never be changed or turned off.


These phones don't keep secrets. They are sharing this personal data widely and regularly, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
An examination of 101 popular smartphone "apps"—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone's location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders.
The findings reveal the intrusive effort by online-tracking companies to gather personal data about people in order to flesh out detailed dossiers on them.
Among the apps tested, the iPhone apps transmitted more data than the apps on phones using Google Inc.'s Android operating system

IPhone and Android Apps Breach Privacy - WSJ.com

 

[Mad Scientist]

I just got my first Android phone the other day and I love it! (Samsung Intercept $25 a month) But when you install apps it clearly states beforehand what parts of your phone will be accessed and what personal info will be transmitted so I don't know what people are complaining about.

What I am still trying to figger out is how to turn off apps when I'm not using them. Easy to do in a PC but not so intuitive in a Droid.

 

[jillian]

I just got my first Android phone the other day and I love it! (Samsung Intercept $25 a month) But when you install apps it clearly states beforehand what parts of your phone will be accessed and what personal info will be transmitted so I don't know what people are complaining about.

What I am still trying to figger out is how to turn off apps when I'm not using them. Easy to do in a PC but not so intuitive in a Droid.

my son says download the 'advanced task killer' app. it lets you turn off what you're not using.