"What's sold as " digital convenience" is actually a hidden surveillance network embedded in apps millions of Americans use daily. Ordinary smartphone software covertly funnels enormous amounts of pilfered personal data to commercial brokers and, ultimately, government agencies without consent or awareness. These invasive apps don't just "spy" on users for ads. They feed a commercial data ecosystem that lets the US government access Americans' private digital lives through loopholes without directly surveilling them."
"US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies track entire neighborhoods using location data siphoned from 12,373 apps that have leaked 30 million precise location points through embedded advertising technology. Among them: Dating: Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Happn, Hily, LIFE360, SkyLove Games: Candy Crush, Temple Run, Subway Surfers, Harry Potter Productivity: Yahoo Mail, Microsoft 365 Health & Fitness: My Period Tracker, MyFitnessPal Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr Religion: Christian prayer apps, Muslim prayer apps, Bible apps Other Apps: VPNs, pregnancy trackers, location-sharing apps"
Mass-market smartphone apps collect and transmit enormous amounts of personal data to commercial brokers and government agencies without user consent or awareness. Location signals from thousands of apps have leaked tens of millions of precise location points, enabling agencies like US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track neighborhoods. Collected data spans dating, games, productivity, health, social media, religion, and utility apps. Location histories can reveal movements, associations, religious attendance, and medical visits, including to abortion clinics. Image access enables apps to analyze private camera rolls and turn intimate photos into monetizable data. Mobile OS privacy controls are obscured or defaulted, facilitating large-scale data harvesting.
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