
News broke yesterday that the popular social timeline app Path for iOS devices has been transmitting personal data to company servers. The app apparently collects details of your contacts from your iOS device, including names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers, and sends them, via a .plist file, to severs owned by Path. Essentially, Path therefore has access to some personal information which they shouldn’t have access to, without obtaining permission of the user.
According to Path CEO Dave Morin, this situation will be rectified in the future with an update that will require users to opt-in to the information gathering, but the damage has already been done. Now, it’s likely that this information gathering has not been done for malicious purposes and, indeed, Path states that it was done in order to connect users with one another. But, shouldn’t the ability to opt-in have been stated clearly at the outset? In point of fact, where does the responsibility lie in ensuring that apps adhere to a reasonable standard of ethics regarding information collection – Apple or app developers?
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