Internet firms read your texts, emails, & even look at your pictures by spying thru smartphone apps

[snagglepuss]

snip

The small print included with many mobile phone apps is giving their developers the right to rifle through users' phone books, text messages and emails.

By agreeing to little-read terms and conditions documents, phone users are giving developers the right to inspect their personal information and even find out who they are talking to.

In many shocking cases, users are even giving apps the right to collect whatever images the camera happens to be seeing, as well as the phone's location.

snip

'Consumers are downloading seemingly innocuous apps without realising their phone calls, location and text messages are all potentially being monitored as a result. Buried in legalese and privacy policies are incredibly broad permissions to capture our personal information and profit from it.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106627/Internet-firms-access-texts-emails-pictures-spying-smartphone-apps.html#ixzz1nVyZ1JOl

[saras]

1. Are smartphones so sucky that you can't get software to forcibly stop this?

It's really easy on a PC. I can, if I want to go to the trouble, even get picky about exactly what information goes out, what gets randomized, and what gets suppressed.

On the other hand, Stark Effect was only able to make these great songs because people did that with PCs too.

Stark Effect's Mic In Track page

[snagglepuss]

4. Sorry I'm next to clueless about computers. What do you mean people

did that to PCs too? Did what exactly?

[Duer 157099]

2. Why don't privacy laws cover this?

Nowadays people sign so many User Agreements with all kinds of legal jargon that they don't read, does that mean that those agreements could say things like "you agree to give your firstborn to the company" or some other such nonsense? Just because it is in the fine print does not make it legal.

What gives?

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Yet another reason why I'm glad I don't own a Smart phone. n/t

[snagglepuss]

5. Me niether. Stories like this remind me of the Twilight Zone

episode How to Serve Man. People are jumping on board without knowing how this technology is not necessarily in their interest.

[Courtesy Flush]

6. The Daily Mail?

I really should check the link before getting invested in reading online posts. Tabloids don't count as news.

[snagglepuss]

7. Shooting the messenger is sooo intelligent.

Although it is a RW rag it is not without merit. In fact it is the paper that has exposed the scandalous A4E fraud that is a massive embarrassment, to say the least, to Cameron.

[Courtesy Flush]

8. That's cool

But their hit-or-miss ethics make them a less-credible source. Even Fox News posts true stuff sometimes. You really can't accept their story on face value. It has to be confirmed by a reliable source.