An Android developer has agreed to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over a free flashlight app that has been "deceiving" users. Brightest Flashlight Free, available in the Google Play store, has been downloaded over 50 million times, but a complaint from the FTC reveals that the seemingly innocent app transmits “precise location” data to third-party advertisers alongside a unique device identifier. The FTC says an option to prevent the location sharing “deceived consumers” as the data was automatically shared before users could disable it.
“When consumers are given a real, informed choice, they can decide for themselves whether the benefit of a service is worth the information they must share to use...
Source: The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/6/5181472/brightest-flashlight-free-ftc-location-data-settlement
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