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SINGAPORE – The developers of the Singapore-based Islamic smartphone app Muslim Pro said it was a “huge shock” to learn of allegations that their user data may have been sold to the US military through one. from your data partners.
On Friday (November 20) they said they had done their due diligence early on to protect the app’s nearly 100 million global users, and reiterated denials that their company has sold or is selling personal data of its users to the US Army
Singapore’s privacy watchdog, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC), is investigating the allegations in a report by news outlet Vice Media on Monday (November 16).
The article claimed that Muslim Pro had sold its users’ location data to the US data aggregation company X-Mode, which later sold it. These companies, also known as data brokers, collect data or buy it from other companies.
Representatives of the app’s developer, Bitsmedia, told The Straits Times in an exclusive interview on Friday (November 20) that they did not sell such data to the US military, but they did not deny sharing their data with third-party data brokers. .
Nik Emir Din, Muslim Pro’s head of business development and its country manager in Malaysia, said: “What we want to be very clear today is that Muslim Pro has not sold any of our users’ data to the US military. This is something I’ve never done before. We’re not doing it now. “
He later added: “The news that it may have been the case through a third-party provider came as a massive shock, not only to users, but also to all of us here.”
Vice had reported that the US military is buying private information collected from apps around the world, including Muslim Pro. The app has services like an online Quran library, daily prayer schedule, address identification of prayer and share inspirational quotes with other users.
Vice said that Muslim Pro had sent users’ location data to X-Mode, as well as other information such as the name of the Wi-Fi network that a user’s mobile phone was linked to, a timestamp, and details about the phone, like your model.
Bitsmedia said it works with tech partners like X-Mode sharing data it captures from its users as part of improving the app’s services and for other reasons such as mobile advertising development, Muslim Pro’s main source of income.
When asked by ST if Bitsmedia was aware of how these partners use the data shared with them, Mr. Nik said that the company’s checks before involving these partners found nothing suspicious with their partners.
“We have conducted very thorough due diligence and checks on them. And there was nothing for us to be aware of of any sensitive business dealings in the past or present,” he said.
Pressed repeatedly by allegations that X-Mode had sold Muslim Pro’s data to the US military, Nik reiterated that his team had found no such indication of this, but that if there were, they would not have worked together with X-Mode.
It added that according to Bitsmedia’s recent interactions with X-Mode, none of its user data has been sold to the US military.
“We will take further action should we discover that our trust and that of our users has been abused,” he added.
Muslim Pro has terminated all relationships with such data partners, including X-Mode, according to a statement posted on its website Tuesday.
Two days later, the company explained on its website that it collects, processes and uses user information to improve its services and support further research and development of the application. This includes location data for functions such as calculating Muslim prayer times, which differ based on geographic location.
Its developers also claimed that data shared with their partners is anonymous and cannot be traced back to individual users.
This was reiterated by the head of platform engineering at Bitsmedia. AM Masudul Haque on Friday, when asked about the nature of the data that was shared with Muslim Pro partners.
“One thing I really want everyone to understand is that we are truly committed to protecting the privacy of our users. And any information that we share is anonymous and we do not share any personal data of our users,” he said. .
When asked about the application’s availability to opt out of sharing personal data and whether users are asked for this option, Mr. Nik replied that Muslim Pro complies with global privacy and regulatory standards.
Further pressured by ST if users have the option not to share their data, Nik said users are asked to agree to the app’s terms and conditions and its privacy policy when they start using the app. They would not be able to use the app if they rejected these terms and conditions.
When reviewed by ST on Friday, Muslim Pro’s online privacy policy did not mention X-Mode, but stated that Bitsmedia works with the Singapore-based location data company Quadrant “to collect and share accurate location information.” , and other data points, including device type. and IP address.
According to the Quadrant website, application publishers can integrate Quadrant’s software development tools into their application to monetize their users’ anonymized location data for use by advertisers and marketers.
Quadrant lists X-Mode as a “trusted partner” on its website. Its policy also states that application end users who can choose not to submit their data to Quadrant, but users must complete a separate form on the Quadrant website.
Responding to inquiries, a PDPC spokesperson said that he was aware of the allegations Muslim Pro faces and has requested more information from Bitsmedia.
“Organizations with mobile applications available to Singaporean users must comply with the data protection requirements of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA),” the spokesperson said.
“We remind users to also take into account the type of permissions and personal data they provide and how they can be used. When in doubt, users should not download or use any applications.”
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