Mobile

Applications are secretly recording your smartphone screen

A group of researches spent a year finding out if your smartphone was spying on you and they say some applications are indeed secretly recording your screens.

After Cambridge Analytica, people have certainly become more aware of their digital privacy and data security online. Quite recently, a group of researchers from Northeastern University, UK have found out that your smartphone in itself might not be listening to you but a bunch of applications is certainly spying on you.

Also Read: Can a Cambridge Analytica like scandal influence Pakistani elections?

After a year-long study, the researchers concluded that your smartphone might not be listening to whatever you say but some of the applications were certainly recording the screens. The scientists ran tests on almost 17,260 of popular Android applications including those from Facebook too.

The scientists found out although more 9000 of these applications had permission to use the smartphone’s camera and microphone, no audio files were being transmitted to any external servers. However, through the research, the computer scientists were able to find out instances where applications were randomly sending out screenshots and screen-records to different third-parties, mentioned Gizmodo.

An application, which goes by the name of GoPuff, for example, was sending out this data to a mobile-analytics company, Appsee without letting the users know about it. After these researchers contacted GoPuff, the team updated their Terms of Service mentioning that user’s personally identifiable information may be collected.

The “Your Smartphone is Listening To You” phrase gained popularity after users claimed that they barely talked about a product and they were later served with an advertisement related to it on some social-media automatically.

Sponsored
Muneeb Ahmad

I love to talk about global tech-happenings, startups, industry, education and economy. Get in touch: muneeb@techjuice.pk.

Leave a Comment
Share
Published by
Muneeb Ahmad

Recent Posts

Microsoft Launches AI-Powered “Support Virtual Agent” for Xbox Users

Microsoft has launched its AI-powered “Support Virtual Agent” chatbot for Xbox Insiders in the U.S.,…

9 hours ago

Musk Says Tesla Won’t Enter Smartphone Market Unless Necessary

Android Authority recently polled its users to find out if they would purchase a Tesla…

10 hours ago

Sukkur IBA Sets Seven Conditions for Conducting MDCAT

The Secretary of the Sukkur IBA Testing Agency has formally requested urgent action from the…

10 hours ago

PSEB Opens Bidding for Nationwide e-Rozgar Centers

The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has launched a nationwide program to encourage IT startups…

10 hours ago

Google Play Services Bug Disrupts Access to Apps for Pixel Users: Here’s How to Fix It

A significant issue with Google Play Services has left many Pixel users unable to access…

11 hours ago

WhatsApp Beta Partners with Google for Innovative Image Search Feature

When it comes to Android messaging apps, WhatsApp stands out as one of the best.…

11 hours ago