Technolog - Android phone apps share personal data
Researchers from Intel Labs, Penn State University and Duke University developed a real-time monitoring service called "TaintDroid" that tracked the flow of "privacy-sensitive data" through third-party apps, or applications for smart phones using the Android operating system, increasingly popular among consumers and in the business world
TaintDroid found that 15 of the 30 apps send users' "geographic location to remote advertisement servers. The study also found that seven of the 30 applications send a unique phone (hardware) identifier and, in some cases, the phone number and SIM card serial number to developers." The researchers said they identified 68 cases of "potentially misused private information" by 20 apps.
Researchers from Intel Labs, Penn State University and Duke University developed a real-time monitoring service called "TaintDroid" that tracked the flow of "privacy-sensitive data" through third-party apps, or applications for smart phones using the Android operating system, increasingly popular among consumers and in the business world
TaintDroid found that 15 of the 30 apps send users' "geographic location to remote advertisement servers. The study also found that seven of the 30 applications send a unique phone (hardware) identifier and, in some cases, the phone number and SIM card serial number to developers." The researchers said they identified 68 cases of "potentially misused private information" by 20 apps.