TheBavarian Radiohas in collaboration withnetzpolitik.organd other international media conducted extensive research that shows how location data of millions of smartphone users worldwide is traded. Included are popular apps like Tinder, but also email apps like those from web.de and gmx.de.
What happened?
The US data retailer Datastream has distributed collected data as free visual aids. An international research team evaluated it and came across explosive information.
The data set consists of collected location data from 47 million smartphone users worldwide, including almost 800,000 Germans.
Most likely the data comes originallyfrom the confusing business of personalized online advertising
. Here, app operators pass on real-time user information such as location data to online advertising marketers.
These apps are affected
The BR reports that over 40,000 apps with worldwide users are affected. The data set shows which data flowed through which apps. In some cases this is the caseinaccurate data such as district information. But some apps also delivermore precise data such as where you live or work. According to current knowledge (via BR,netzpolitik.org) affected:
Precise location data
- Wetter Online
- Flightradar24
- Classifieds
- Focus Online
- Kik (free messenger)
- WordBit
- Hornet
Inaccurate location data
- Candy Crush Saga
- Tinder
- Grindr
- Lovooo
- Jaum
- Mail apps from web.de and gmx.de
- Vinted
- Happy Color
- up day
Selling some very precise location data
The BR gives the example of an anonymous woman from Lower Bavaria. Using the data shared, the research team was able to create a movement profile of her. During the period in which the data are available, she lived in a single-family home and visited a specialist clinic several times. With the help of this data, conclusions could be drawn about the woman's health situation
The woman confirms that she is using the Wetter Online app.
Data protection advocates are horrified, the accused providers remain silent
The President of the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, Michael Will, sees the trust of users abused in an interview with BR:
Nobody expects that. Being able to track where they have been months later is contrary to everything users would expect from apps.
The accused app operators, however, remain tight-lipped.
The operators of very few apps had even commented on the allegations by the time of going to press. Of those who responded, they do not want to maintain any business relationships with the data traders mentioned. Datastream also left a query from the research team unanswered.
What do you think about that? Do you use one of the apps mentioned and are you now thinking about deleting it? Feel free to write us your thoughts on the topic in the comments!
