What we're looking at here is a bunch of Android phones being tested by researchers at
Northeastern University, seeking to prove or disprove the popular conspiracy theory that apps like Facebook passively spy on you through your phone's microphone to show you ads based on your conversations with others.
The researchers analyzed Internet traffic generated from 10 Android phones and 17,260 apps, and found no unauthorized transmission of audio. They did, however, find evidence of apps recording screen activity and sending those recordings on to third parties.
Gizmodo's reporting of this story cites the specific example of
goPuff, an app that enables the delivery of junk food to college students. Researchers found that this app was surreptitiously sending screen recordings to an analytics company called Appsee,
which has an entire page devoted to their screen recording technology:
Every tap, swipe, and action of every screen is recorded, allowing you to gain instant insights of your app’s user experience [...] Even one video can illustrate an obstacle that many of your users are grappling with. That’s why you have complete control in terms of the ratio of recorded users. You can even choose to record sessions based on parameters such as which screens they visit, their demographics, or their mobile device OS.
There's even a video demo of a recorded screen:
According to Appsee's CEO, the offending app violated his company's terms of service, as any screen recordings must be disclosed to users. The developers of goPuff have since added a disclosure to their
privacy policy. Google itself has also weighed in on the matter; in an email to Gizmodo a spokesperson said that Appsee's screen recordings may put developers at risk of violating Google's Play Store policy.
Source:
Gizmodo
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Recent Forum Posts
What do you mean by only 20% are timestamped?...
What do you mean by only 20% are timestamped? What/where are you looking at? You should still be able to long press to select a message, press "..." and view the details.
AnciusD Today, 04:48 PM