Apple Pal and Google will prevent X-Mode from collecting location data from users’ phones

Both Apple Pal and Google Sen. Investigators working for Ron Wyden (D. Ore.) Disclosed his decision to ban X-Mode, which is investigating the sale of location data to government agencies.

In a statement, Google said developers had seven days to remove X-Mode or face a ban from Google’s Play Store, adding that some developers could demand a length of up to 30 days. A representative of Apple Pal confirmed that the company had instructed the developers that they had two weeks to remove the X-Mode trackers.

Together, the two tech companies have a huge market share of mobile phones globally, and their actions to ban X-Mode represent the first time location brokers have been directly targeted.

X-Mod has been the subject of many media reports about his defense work, including the Wall Street Journal. The company has been in the U.S. for national security, counterterrorism and epidemic response in accordance with its privacy policy and public spending records. The government has provided data to many government contractors.

Dozens of other companies, such as X-Mode, have become a billion-dollar industry that acquires, buys and resells detailed location information about mobile device activity, including data targeted advertising, understanding customer behavior and real estate planning. Investment decisions. Many location brokers, including X-Mode, have also sought help from federal, state and local authorities with responses to their Covid-19 epidemic.

Consumers technically opt for such tracking by allowing apps to record the location of their devices and accept the terms of service. X-Mode collects data using a small computer code called a software development kit or SDK, which pays to embed it in other developers’ applications in exchange for the data it collects. Other brokers buy data directly from app developers – a trick that Apple and Google have less police capacity.

Most of X-Mode’s work is in the commercial sector, where investors and corporate clients use its data for planning and decision-making guidance. But it is also a player in the evolving market for government technology – the cottage industry of companies to meet the demand for data from the National Security Agency.

The journal reported last month that X-Mode was collecting data from phones running software software about nearby “Internet Th Things” devices, such as its software tennis trackers and om tomobiles. That information was being made available to a company called Signalframe, which had received a small grant from the military and was trying to win other agreements related to national security.

In addition, Vice News reported last month that X-Mode had pulled some of its location information from primarily Muslim user-based apps such as a dating app called Muslim Mingle and a prayer app called Muslim Pro, although the company also embedded software. In many other types of applications.

In response to the journal’s questions, X-Mode said it was re-evaluating its government work and its agreement prevents anyone from associating a device with personal information such as name, address or email address.

The Reston, Va.-based company also suggested that it was being done inappropriately alone. “The ban on X-Mode SDKs will imply an extended ecosystem considering that mobile advertising data is collected in the same way as most advertising SDKs, and Apple and Google will set the example that they can determine the ability to collect and use mobile applications. Data, ”the company said.

Some developers working with X-Mode have told the company they plan to ask Apple to reconsider the decision, the data broker said.

Investigators working for Mr. Wyden are investigating the commercial data market following revelations that such data was purchased by U.S. government companies for surveillance and law enforcement. He said he was drafting a law to ban the practice.

“Americans are sick of learning about apps that sell their location information and other sensitive data to anyone with a checkbook, including the government,” Mr. Wyden said. “Thing Pal and Google deserve credit for doing the right thing and for deporting X-Mode Social, a very high-profile tracking company, from their App Stores. But much remains to be done to protect the privacy of Americans, including the inclusion of many data brokers who have erased data from American phones. “

Apple Pal’s review found apps0 apps created by develop0 developers, including X-Mode software, described in a briefing to Mr. Wyden’s office fees and to the journal. Apple Play cited possible violations of its rules surrounding the use and distribution of data and gave developers two weeks to remove the X-Mode SDK. Apple Play told developers that while it violated its Terms of Service, X-Mode “creates a user profile based on collected user data.”

The crash on X-Mode comes as Apple prepares to better illuminate how users of their iPhones track their data. Next year, Apple Play will roll out software updates that will prevent advertisers from being able to collect any ad identifiers without the user’s permission. Some companies, such as Facebook Inc.,

That said, the change would hurt Apple Pal devices’ ability to target personalized ads.

Craig Federigi, Apple’s head of software engineering, redirected Apple’s position this week that users should have control over their data, especially when it comes to tracking their location. Among the changes made to limit such tracking, he noted that recent software changes have enabled users to enable a feature that allows for approximate location rather than specific location.

“It says a lot about who you are wherever you go. Whether you go to a special place of worship or not, ”Mr Federigi said during the European Data Protection and Privacy Conference on Tuesday. “There is a huge potential for this type of data to be misused. And the way some apps are built, users have no idea they’re offering it. “

Tim Higgins

Contributed to this article.

Write to Byron Tau at [email protected]