The American newspaper Wall Street Journal has investigated the way apps for smartphones handle user data. The found that many apps are sending data without the user being aware of it.
The conclusions of the investigation are alarming haf of the 101 tested apps appear to send userdata. The investigators were testing apps for iPhone and Android, many of which sent data to advertisers. It may be that the apps are sending unique identifiers, like the handsets IMEI, but also age, gender and location of the user were reportedly sent.
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Advertisers use the data to be able to offer targeted promotional activities. The data is been anonymized, but many smartphone-owners are still uncomfortable with it. The journalists found many apps that had no privacy statements, so user couldn't know which data was sent and which not.
The largest receiver of data in the investigation was Google. 38 of 101 applications in the test were sending data to the search company. Another name in the test it Angry Birds. This app sent unique handset data to the creators of the app.
Source: Wall Street Journal