In its report “Out of control”, the Consumer Council reviewed ten popular apps, including the dating app Tinder, the children's game My Talking Tom, the period app Period Tracker and the prayer app Muslim Quibla finder. The apps, which are funded with personalized ads, share users' data with various ad networks which in turn auction the ad space to the highest bidder.
An analysis of the traffic from the ten apps showed that a total of 135 different companies took part in personal data on everything from location, IP number, gender, sexual preferences and digital activities. Sinan Akdag thinks the report confirms how little control consumers have over the personal data they share.
- GDPR has not solved that problem. We are convinced that this collection is in breach of the GDPR and that is why we ask the Data Inspectorate to take a closer look at this. We have GDPR on paper but we haven't tried the law yet, he says.
Sensitive and private informationThe trade in data from Grindr, a dating app for LGBTQ people, stands out especially since sexual preferences according to GDPR is a sensitive task that requires explicit consent.
- I think that few Grindr users expect their information to be spread to thousands of companies.
Impossible to get an overviewThe extensive trade makes it impossible for users to understand how their personal information is used and disseminated, according to the report. Not one of the apps offered enough information at registration and there were no settings that made it possible to stop the spread if desired.
As an example, Grindr mentions in its user policy that personal data is shared with third-party companies and refers to their policies for those who want to know how the data is used. But only one of a total of 18 companies in the study is named, Twitter's advertising network MoPub. MoPub's user policy mentions, in turn, another 160 companies that share user data.
- It's time for the regulators to do something about this, says Sinan Akdag.
SVT Nyheter has applied for the Data Inspectorate.