[vi-android] Fwd: Some Android games monitor your child's location: SSO Alert Priority Moderate [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]
- From: Quentin Christensen <quentin.christensen@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: vi-android@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:28:10 +1100
Hi everyone,
While it's (hopefully) no secret to you all that some apps try and track
you and annoy you with ads etc, the article below is still worth reading
and remembering when you install apps to carefully check the permissions
asked for.
It was also interesting to see that in Android 4.3, you can select to allow
or disallow certain actions by apps - I hadn't noticed that and will have
to check it out now.
Regards
Quentin.
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From: Stay Smart Online <staysmartonline@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 21 November 2013 11:07
Subject: Some Android games monitor your child's location: SSO Alert
Priority Moderate [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]
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21 November 2013
Some Android games monitor your child's location: SSO Alert Priority
Moderate
Many mobile educational and game applications (apps), despite being
designed for young children, have been identified monitoring children's
geographical locations and selling the information to advertisers.
Apps on your phone may request permission to access location, address book,
email, SMS and other information as part of their normal functions, but for
some apps, access to this information may not be necessary. If you are
concerned about the privacy of your family, read the permission information
carefully and be selective about granting the app access to information on
your phone.
Managing an app’s access to information requires careful attention to the
permissions you give when you load it on your smartphone or tablet.
Security firm Bitdefender recently
warned<http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/android-games-track-kis-location-bitdefender-warns-7214.html>about
the practice after noticing that some Android games such as Kids
Educational
Puzzles<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.EducationalPuzzlesLetters>were
requesting permission to track their users’ locations. This
information is often sold to advertisers, who use it to target
advertisements to specific types of users in particular parts of the world.
Android devices will show a warning screen when an app is installed and
run, outlining exactly what type of information it wants to access. The
latest version of Android (4.3), installed on new Android devices, includes
an App Ops feature that lets you allow or block specific activities for
each installed app.
iPhones and iPads do not explicitly highlight the types of data they
collect, but you can control apps' access to location information by
looking in Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
Many security vendors provide solutions that can scan your currently
installed apps to tell you which are collecting location or other personal
information.
See the links below for specific instructions about how to manage location
settings.
[image: Line]
More information
Collecting personal information about young children is prohibited under
legislation such as the United States Children’s Online Privacy Protection
Act (COPPA), which prohibits the collection of personal information about
children aged under 13. Australia’s Privacy Act
1988<http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/the-privacy-act>prevents
the collection of personally identifiable information on any user
without explicit instructions about what data is to be collected and what
it is to be used for.
Android: how to manage
Location<https://support.google.com/gmm/answer/3118687?hl=en>in Google
Settings
Apple iOS 7: Understanding Location Services<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5594>
Apple iOS 6: Understanding Location Services<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5467>
The information provided here is of a general nature. Everyone’s
circumstances are different. If you require specific advice you should
contact your local technical support provider.
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'the Department'). It was accurate and up to date at the time of publishing.
This information is general information only and is intended for use by
private individuals and small to medium sized businesses. If you are
concerned about a specific cyber security issue you should seek
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