Apple has used the phrase “what happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone” many times before, but it turns out that may not be entirely true.
That’s according to an article in the Washington Post. It says the problem isn’t isolated to iPhones, either – Androids are just as bad at keeping your information limited to your device only.
The Post tracked how dozens of marketing companies may be using your personal information that it gets from apps to send out to other companies.
They can reportedly obtain your exact location, phone number, IP address, and more.
According to the Post, Yelp is a main player when it comes to sucking up data.
Here’s an excerpt from a Washington Post article detailing the problem:
On a recent Monday night, a dozen marketing companies, research firms and other personal data guzzlers got reports from my iPhone. At 11:43 p.m., a company called Amplitude learned my phone number, email and exact location. At 3:58 a.m., another called Appboy got a digital fingerprint of my phone. At 6:25 a.m., a tracker called Demdex received a way to identify my phone and sent back a list of other trackers to pair up with. And all night long, there was some startling behavior by a household name: Yelp. It was receiving a message that included my IP address -— once every five minutes.
“It’s the middle of the night. Do you know who your iPhone is talking to?” by Geoffrey A. Fowler for the Washington Post
Check out the rest of the story here: Invasion of privacy.
