Some Gaming Apps Are Using Microphone To Track TV Viewing Habits
Recent reports have revealed that some gaming apps that users install on their respective smartphones might have been given access to a microphone that a third party app can use to track their TV habits. The app uses a software from Alphonso, a company that specializes in collecting user data for advertisers.
According to reports, more than 250 games that use the software from Alphonso is available on the Google Play Store for Android users, while some are also available in the App Store for iOS users. Some apps have been found to showcase the bad habit of relegating the information about how the game uses their microphone to track TV viewing habits under the "read more" link in the game's description. As such, users are likely unaware that Alphonso has access to what they are viewing in their bedroom or living rooms.
"When you see 'permission for microphone access for ads,' it may not be clear to a user that, Oh, this means it's going to be listening to what I do all the time to see if I'm watching 'Monday Night Football,'" director of consumer privacy and technology policy of Consumers Unions Justin Brookman told The New York Times. "They need to go above and beyond and be careful to make sure consumers know what's going on. It's not normally, I don't think, going to be expected that an application is going to be listening for what you're watching. But you're not necessarily expecting your TV to be watching what you're doing either."
The publication also identified some of the apps that use their software to collect TV habits information from the users. It includes "Pool 3D," "Beer Pong: Trickshot," and "Honey Quest." Alphonso refuses to release the full list of games and they have declined to share how many users currently opted, whether knowingly or not, in the program.
