Free mobile apps collecting your device data

I've (Julian Evans blog) just completed some research of some free mobile apps across BlackBerry, iOS and Android. What I found didn't surprise me, but it may surprise my readers. Free apps are really not that free - why? These so called free apps are collecting device and personally sensitive mobile data and sending it out to hundreds of advertising and analytics domains.

Mobile gaming apps are a particular target for developers who make little or no money from free apps but can make money from selling the app data they collect. Ever used Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja Tree? We all have, including me and these games transmit quite a bit of your mobile and personal data (including your IMEI, IMSI, your country, your location, GPS co-ordinates and some apps can locate you within 200 metres) to servers in the cloud. Read more...