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Privacy

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Apr 18th 2011 9:41am




Filed Under:
camera, microphone, smartphones, snooping

Companies:
color


Smartphone Apps Quietly Using Phone Microphones And Cameras To Gather Data

from the hush-now dept

With the rise of smartphone apps, users don't always know what features and functionality those apps may be using. Reports are coming out about various apps that use the phone's microphone (and, sometimes, camera) in somewhat surreptitious ways to gather data. Now, of course, there are certain apps that people expect to use the microphone or a camera -- such as music or TV show identification products. But it's a bit of a surprise that apps such as the massively hyped (and then quickly panned) Color (which is a sort of photo sharing/location-based info service) is making use of your microphone and camera without most users realizing it:
Color uses your iPhone's or Android phone's microphone to detect when people are in the same room. The data on ambient noise is combined with color and lighting information from the camera to figure out who's inside, who's outside, who's in one room, and who's in another, so the app can auto-generate spontaneous temporary social networks of people who are sharing the same experience.
Another app discussed is, Shopkick, which gives people rewards for walking into certain stores. While you might think it could accomplish what it needs with GPS, apparently the stores in question have special devices that emit sounds that you can't hear, the microphone on your phone can pick up, thus "confirming" that you really entered the store.

While the reasoning behind these may be benign, my guess is that most people would feel pretty creeped out about apps turning on either the microphone or camera, without explicitly warning the user and making it clear what's going on (or letting them choose to turn on those features directly). Mike Elgan, who wrote the article linked above, notes (obviously) that surreptitiously turning on your microphone can provide marketers with all sorts of useful data (ya think?), so we should expect it to happen more and more often. Of course, all this is making me think that my Android phone needs an app that warns me whenever the microphone is turned on and lets me block it... Anyone writing that app?

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  1.  
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    Skeptical Cynic (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 9:00am

    Nothing new here

    People don't care that any app or program is watching them. You are an agent of big brother and you like it!! Enjoy your freedom and privacy because it exists only in your mind.

     

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    crade (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 9:37am

    Re: Nothing new here

    Where else do you need it?

     

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    fogbugzd (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 9:43am

    On it. I have been looking for a good starter Android app.

     

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    fogbugzd (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 9:44am

    Re:

    On second thought, you aren't going to claim IP rights to the idea, are you? /sarc

     

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    ShellMG, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 9:51am

    Yikes! I knew there was a good reason to wait on the iPad 2. A camera on my first gen iPad would have been nice, but I think I'll wait a bit for that security app. I still get majorly creeped out by the mall scene in "Minority Report."

     

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    Sam (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 9:58am

    Android applications have to declare what access permissions they have on installation, so any app wanting to do this on Android will state that it can use the camera and microphone. If it's not obvious why it wants access to those, don't install it.

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 9:59am

    Wouldn't these hidden 'features' kinda violate wiretapping laws? Or is that something you sign away in those EULAs nobody reads?

    (yeah, I know EULAs don't trump actual laws)

    Why does fun or function have to get so creepy?

     

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  8.  
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    Steven (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:00am

    To be fair...

    For the most part the use of these items is legit. Using the GPS is great, but it's not as accurate as most people think. It can often be off by quite a bit and it's not reliable.

    For that reason some apps (such as color) need additional information to identify your location. In the case of color (which I'm not associated with and don't use, but have looked into) it basically hashes the ambient noise on a few specific levels to match people together. It's not recording your conversations so all the developers can sit around and listen in.

    Let's be honest here, we're talking about apps that openly inform us that they are going to collect our location and use that as part of the app experience. If this was some phone flashlight app that did this that is a whole different story.

    I agree it's important to know about these things (and I do like the idea about an alert app, although I'm not sure if you'd be able to identify the application using the resource) this is an area ripe for hyperbole that really just needs some care taken by users as to who you trust.

     

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    fogbugzd (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:02am

    Re:

    >>Android applications have to declare what access permissions they have on installation, so any app wanting to do this on Android will state that it can use the camera and microphone. If it's not obvious why it wants access to those, don't install it.

    Good advice, but based on experience with my own family I think that page gets about as much attention from the average user as the click-thru EULA.

     

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  10.  
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    Marcus Carab (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:04am

    Re: To be fair...

    But the question is, if there's an app that surreptitiously listens for a special tone when you walk into a store, how far are we from an app that also surreptitiously listens for products you talk about while you're in there?

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:04am

    Re:

    This is what I wondered about after reading. The user may have agreed to give up their privacy and let the microphone turn on whenever the marketer wants, but what about the rest of the people in the room with him/her?

    This is a wiretap lawsuit just waiting to happen.

     

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  12.  
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    John Doe, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:06am

    What scares me...

    I don't mind apps using various bits of data within the app within my phone. What scares me is what data is it collecting and sending back to a central server somewhere? Not that I have anything to hide, I am quite boring by most people's standards. But my info/location/etc is mine and nobody else needs to see it.

    I love my Motorola Droid X, but I do worry about what info is being gathered. For example, a Bible app actually requests about every bit of access a phone has. Why does a bible app need any access rights at all? It can't be using that info for just the app, it must be sending it back to the app creator.

     

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    Architek1, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:09am

    Are these apps listening only when opened in use? Or is this something that can run in background while multitasking?

     

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    Christina, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:15am

    to go a little further about color...

    Just as most people never spend the time to read T&C's (particularly online), another thing to note about COLOR is that the company is going in not as just another app, but as a data-mining research tool. This alone should have people really pay attention to what they're signing up for.

    We wrote a quick refresher on what Color is on our marketing website but we are very intriqued and been reading into what Color's progress has been and can potentially become...
    Looking through this on a pure marketing/advertising lens will prove that more information = more ways to seed new products/services to a very willing and voluntary mass.

    Always a plus in an increasingly segmented, (fractured for others) media consumption'd world.

    Christina

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:17am

    Re:

    Because iOS doesn't do true multitasking, you don't have to worry about it unless you are actually running the app.

     

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  16.  
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    Steven (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:18am

    Re: Re: To be fair...

    Like I said, it's all about who do you trust.

    You're installing an app that tells you it's going to use the mic. You have to make a judgment call, do I trust this app/company to use that mic access in an appropriate manner.

    The app/company has it's reputation to consider. It's non-trivial, but certainly possible to figure out just what an app is doing and what information it's sending. Bad behavior by high visibility apps will come to light.

     

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  17.  
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    Michael, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:23am

    Re: What scares me...

    "a Bible app actually requests about every bit of access a phone has"

    You would think God would have a better way of monitoring you than your smartphone.

     

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  18.  
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    Steven (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:24am

    Re:

    Apps can run in the background to some extent, but their lifecycle is controlled by the Android OS and they are subject to be killed at any time for any reason (you can even force kill an app in the settings).

    Apps can also create/start 'services' which only run in the background. These are a bit different (and are shown in a separate section in the settings). Services have no UI, but are meant to run long term in the background. They can still be killed, but have different lifecycles.

     

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  19.  
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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:25am

    Hardwired LEDs

    If I recall correctly, the OLPC has a hardwired led which turns on whenever the camera is turned on (it is done on hardware, so there is no way any software can prevent the led from turning on whenever the camera is on).

    Perhaps that should be done with smartphones too, for both the camera(s) and the microphone(s). Each has a separate led, and when the corresponding input device is turned on, the led turns on. It would not use too much power, since these devices (microphone and camera) are not meant to be on all the time, and at least the camera should use much more power than a small low-power led.

     

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  20.  
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    Shawn (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:29am

    Re:

    Only if the app actually records the data maybe... if it is just listening for a tone I dont think it breaks any wiretapping laws.

     

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  21.  
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    Glen, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:30am

    And if your battery life sucks now...

    it is only going to get worse once these programs try to run in the background.

     

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  22.  
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    Chris Rhodes (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:30am

    Re:

    The problem is that a lot of the feature requests are general, and even if the feature is obviously required for functionality, there's no way to limit how it's used afterwards.

    As an example, ShopSavvy just required a manual update for me. It requests access to the camera. Obviously, it needs access to read barcodes and such. But who's to say what else it uses the camera for?

     

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    Mark Murphy (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:35am

    Detecting microphone usage, lighting up an LED

    Of course, all this is making me think that my Android phone needs an app that warns me whenever the microphone is turned on and lets me block it... Anyone writing that app?

    I do not believe that there is a way for an app to be notified that another app is using the microphone, sorry. Blocking it is even more out of the question -- any app that could do that could just as easily permanently block the microphone. The problem is that most "user defense" apps like this would need capabilities that could be exploited by malware, causing problems worse than what we started with.

    Perhaps [lighting up a hardwired LED] should be done with smartphones too, for both the camera(s) and the microphone(s).

    For the camera, preview mode needs to be active for the camera to work. While there is a fairly arcane way to get around this, the net is that the vast majority of Android camera-using apps will have an on-screen preview of what's coming in the camera lens. This will be more visible than an LED. There is no equivalent for the microphone, though.

     

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  24.  
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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:36am

    from the horses' mouth...

    The use of the microphone is discussed in this interview with Color co-founder Peter Pham. Short answer (if you believe him) it's not recording sounds but using the mike to create a kind of hash value for the sounds that are in the area....

    http://twit.tv/tsh2

     

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  25.  
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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:44am

    Re: Re:

    Well, if a disk cache is a "copy" of a protected work...

    It obviously has to record the sound, then send it to a server to compare it to a library so it knows *which* location you've just entered. So not only is it recording conversations, it's also transmitting them to a remote server.

     

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    Den Stric674, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:50am

    This gives me the ressoning on lead lined pocket?

     

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    Jason, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:53am

    Unbelieveable

    This is why I'd rather get my apps from GiveMeApps. At least there I know they test them before they put them up. You can detect what features your apps are using.

     

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  28.  
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    BongoBern (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:54am

    Creepy indeed

    I'm always keeping an eye on my PC camera to make sure it's off. I've turned off all of my locator options, my phone only sends locator signals when I dial 911. I firmly do not like being tracked - even by cookies!

     

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  29.  
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    Gracey (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:55am

    ...feeling creeped out

    Yes indeed, I believe I would feel very creeped out if I didn't know the app was doing something like that.

    Thankfully, I don't use a smartphone, and I don't use apps. Basic mobile that lets me call someone when I need to.

    Trying to keep track of where my computer is sending stuff is bad enough, never mind having to worry about a mobile device.

    All of this is making me feel very old, but at least I know enough to stay away from my son-in-law while he's got his iphone on :)

     

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  30.  
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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:58am

    Re: to go a little further about color...

    Still creepy.

    And those intentions should be stated up front. This noise about reading yards long sections of undigestible legalese is quite crap and a total dodge.

    Say what you're doing - what, you're afraid no one will bother with you if you do just that?

     

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  31.  
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    Jordan, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 11:10am

    Re:

    Since all users always read all the fine print before installing apps on their phones, this is really a moot point. Great insight!

     

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  32.  
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    Carter1984, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 11:14am

    FCC been doing this for years

    This is old news. Haven't you read the Patriot Act or FCC regulations which have required all cell phones the ability to be remotely tapped into and their microphones or cameras activated even if the phone is turned off? No warrants necessary. The FBI loves spying on all 300 million American terrorists.

    http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5184
    http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html

     

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  33.  
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    Steven (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 11:39am

    Re: Re:

    So your solution is what?

    All people to sue when they don't like something they were actively told about? At some point the consumer has to take some responsibility. Assuming the app in question isn't misleading in it's function I don't see a major problem here.

    The permissions for an app may not be very fine detailed, but they do give a good overview. If they were more detailed people would be complaining that the notice is too long and hard to read.

     

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    DogBreath, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 11:45am

    Re: Re: What scares me...

    Maybe God needs to know if you're Captain James T. Kirk and have access to a starship?

     

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  35.  
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    Chris in Utah (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 12:16pm

    Electronic Collar

    Have to agree with the eccentric astro-physicist from Numbers on this one.

     

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    Canuck-Errant, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 12:32pm

    Oh, jeez. The security concerns are also pretty serious - if I'm on the job as a signals operator with my unit, would I have to turn off my phone to prevent possible breaches of classification?

     

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    Freedom, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 12:41pm

    Pet Peeve about Security Warnings...

    This highlights one of the things that has always bugged me about the Security Approval Process on Android Phones/Apps.

    You are told what the APP wants access to, but the developer isn't forced to provide an explanation of why it needs access to XYZ part of the phone/OS.

    It would also be nice to see a 3rd party privacy certification process that actually reviews the source code and provides an executive summary of what data is sent home, etc.

    Freedom

     

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  38.  
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    Spirit_machine, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 1:03pm

    re: Creepy Indeed

    Bongo Bern

    I would not be so sure about only giving away tracking information when you dial a number.
    They track you every time your mobile connects to a tower for signal, so unless you keep your phone off all the time (and to be safe, wrap it in a Faraday cage.)

    http://communications-media.lawyers.com/privacy-law/Cell-Phone-Privacy.html

    http://then extweb.com/asia/2011/03/03/beijing-to-track-citizens-with-their-cell-phones

     

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  39.  
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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 1:41pm

    Re: Creepy indeed

    Mom went one step further....she put black tape over the camera. I lol'd....then read this...and went...hmmm....

     

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  40.  
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    Dizzle, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 1:51pm

    Wiretapping Laws

    Sounds like these programs would be a major violation of Washington state wiretapping laws

     

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  41.  
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    Schisma Tism, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 2:22pm

    Battery usage

    Now I know why my battery drains so fast these days...

     

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  42.  
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    aldestrawk (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 4:38pm

    Re:

    If you're in a place where there is audible discussion of classified information then you probably shouldn't be allowed to have a cell phone in your possession. At the very least you would need to remove the battery as some cell phones can be turned on remotely.

     

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    aldestrawk (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 6:31pm

    Re: from the horses' mouth...

    Color isn't necessarily using a hash function. What they need to do, according to their stated purpose, is to characterize the ambient sound of a place so they can identify that some group of more than one person is at a particular place. So, what they need is a fingerprint of sound which does not need to include any particular person's actual speech. The fingerprint could be the result of a hash function, or not. I am making a distinction between a hash and a fingerprint because a hash cannot be reversed. More precisely, a cryptographic hash cannot be reversed, but any old hash may be rather difficult to reverse. One way of fingerprinting a waveform is with a Fourier transform. A Fourier transform can be reversed. The question is are they sampling often enough to be able to reconstruct a conversation? I doubt it, as the point of Color's application is to identify a room and people don't move from room to room that quickly.

     

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    aldestrawk (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 6:53pm

    Re:

    A person would downloaded an application and was informed about the application's use of the microphone has given permission to be recorded. However, unless there is a feature which periodically blasts out a message from your cellphone's speaker, other parties have not been so informed. That is a violation is many states. I don't think an application writer could afford to overlook that.
    The Shopkick application could process sound locally to identify when you've entered the store. Alternatively, if they are also identifying which store you entered from the sound, that would get sent to a server. A single sample could be used to determine this so I don't believe they are transmitting conversations.
    I don't believe Color is recording conversations either. Look to my explanation down further in the comments.

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2011 @ 8:58pm

    Re: Re: Creepy indeed

    I use a bandaid - no adhesive on the lens that way.

     

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    Michael Avery (profile), Apr 18th, 2011 @ 10:31pm

    Re: Detecting microphone usage, lighting up an LED

    So is the superposition of the app when it's "off" both listening and not?

     

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    Gene Cavanaugh, Apr 19th, 2011 @ 10:38am

    Microphone and camera surveillance apps

    Why not a sound-proof, light-proof case for when you are not using the device (or just don't want to be watched)?
    Don't patent it though, Michael is right, there is too much abuse of the system as it is!

     

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    herpderp, Apr 21st, 2011 @ 4:51pm

    Re: Re: To be fair...

    Well, luckily, it only takes one person bringing this up for people to start flipping out, and here all the examples are actually pretty legitimate, so now consider the public outcry when such an app were found out. While most people may be incompetent, there are some people out there who still read contracts before they sign them, or check which permissions they are approving before they install something on their phone.

    In fact, the application which gives rewards for visiting stores and validates that the visit actually occurred using more than just simple GPS is incredibly reasonable when you consider that (it sounds like) they are offering tangible rewards for doing this and would leave themselves open to serious exploitation if simply using GPS. If you are using an android phone, you can use the standard operating system to mock a GPS location. It's a feature mostly for developers, but is easy enough for anyone to do.

     

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    Lisa rosa, Jun 30th, 2011 @ 3:21am

    I like this post and it comments because these are full of advices

     

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    Digital Idea, Jul 16th, 2011 @ 7:29pm

    i got some decision here. Thanks for sharing idea and how to solve it. need more time for looking good application.
    http://www.facebook.com/Digital.Camera.Amazon

     

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    Nikon D300s best price (profile), Jul 19th, 2011 @ 4:09am

    Thanks

    I want to thank you for this article. this article. I will now be patient with apps..

     

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    TheDailyBerry, Jul 27th, 2011 @ 6:15pm

    As obtrusive as it sounds, I have heard of this happening before. Privacy is a lot harder to come by nowadays and people will exploit it at any opportunity they get.

     

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    Jake T, Aug 1st, 2011 @ 9:48am

    Use what you need - dont be too curious

    man.. there are too many junk apps.. by junk i mean those apps that you can live without.. I believe if an app is really legit, important, and really adds value to you.. these things will be filtered out

     

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    Jo Henrion, Aug 15th, 2011 @ 7:23pm

    Political Lobbying App???

    Looking for a good app that connects taxpayers with their political representatives ... maybe Obama too?

    If anyone knows of a good one, please let me know. I found one that calls, another just promotes breast cancer. What about one for everyday issues?

    Thanks,

     

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    unlocked blackberry 9800 torch, Sep 12th, 2011 @ 6:10am

    smartphone apps gathering information

    Well I'm not surprised at all.I mean to say my computer is bombarded everyday with spam email.This is the next step to gather information.It is so frustrating.




    unlocked blackberry 9800 torch

     

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    Free Download Games Offline, Sep 13th, 2011 @ 5:56pm

    Battery usage

    Now I know why my battery drains so fast these days

     

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    Math, Nov 2nd, 2011 @ 2:51pm

    Big Brother is looking at you

    Im maniac about new techno, i like everything in my galaxy s Android, its just a swiss knife with all the apps. Sometime i just get paranoid, if big brother want, its see me, know where i am, i call someone they know it too, my location, my search page, all my habit of consumer

    , its all so personal.

    Every phone so unique.

     

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    Track A Cell Phone, Nov 17th, 2011 @ 12:47pm

    Big Brother Indeed

    Its going like that Minority Report movie where you'll be tracked and targeted for ads by the info on your cell phone every time you go somewhere

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  59.  
    identicon
    Boise Blinds, Sep 7th, 2012 @ 1:35am

    Scary

    If you haven't seen the TED conference talk where the guy sued his mobile phone company so they would release all his records and they had everywhere he had been since he bought the phone. It is really scary what technology can do.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  60.  
    identicon
    lenspatch, Jan 25th, 2013 @ 12:10pm

    Cover your smartphone camera with Lenspatch!

    You could cover your smartphone camera with Lenspatch band and never have to worry about it!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  61.  
    identicon
    tired of technology, Feb 15th, 2013 @ 11:48pm

    camera snooping

    I've read that my cameras and mike on my note 2 can be remotely activated even when phone turned off. I have ab otter case that covers the back camera and I've noticed that whenever I remove the outer shell, exposing the rear camera lense, the camera flashes and takes a picture without my using camera option. Creepy. I keep front camera lense covered with piece of black electrical tape or masking tape. Not very high tech but keeps me from being surreptitiously viewed or photographed. Why would rear camera go off everytime I remove outer protective cover?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  62.  
    identicon
    Inocu, Apr 2nd, 2013 @ 12:43pm

    Re:

    This is wrong. Android phones come with a YouTube app installed that has that feature already. You can't remove it. We need an App that continuously sends an "FU" message to any program that surreptitiously turns on your camera and mic when you are not aware.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  63.  
    identicon
    Inocu, Apr 2nd, 2013 @ 12:48pm

    False. These apps do not have to be started by the user. The permission allows them to turn on the camera and mic even when you have not chosen to run the app.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  64.  
    identicon
    David, Apr 19th, 2013 @ 5:29am

    Re:

    As far as I know, these apps can run in the backgroud without the user's knowledge.
    Make your own phone case

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  65.  
    identicon
    led hats, May 12th, 2013 @ 8:04pm

    Give Big Brother a Hug!

    I knew it that apps are a great excuse (or rather tool) to invade the users' privacy. But then again, most don't care that they are living under the Big Brother system.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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