Many More Android Apps Leaking User Data

eldavojohn writes "After developing and using TaintDroid, several universities found that of 30 popular free Android apps, half were sharing GPS data and phone numbers with advertisers and remote servers. A few months ago, one app was sending phone numbers to a remote server in China but today the situation looks a lot more pervasive. In their paper (PDF), the researchers blasted Google saying 'Android's coarse grained access control provides insufficient protection against third-party applications seeking to collect sensitive data.' Google's response: 'Android has taken steps to inform users of this trust relationship and to limit the amount of trust a user must grant to any given application developer. We also provide developers with best practices about how to handle user data. We consistently advise users to only install apps they trust.'"

Re:But how?

[Anonymous Coward]

For a start, don't install a flashlight app that requests access to network features.

It's only fair...

[DdJ]

...after all, many more users are leaking Android app data. [slashdot.org]

Re:15 of the 30...

[ciscoeng]

"This is OnStar. You appear to be traveling at a high rate of speed after stopping at a bank. Do you require police assistance?"

Re:Prevasive?

[boneclinkz]

I felt that the utilitization of the word prevasive added an element of loquatiatory verbosity to an otherwise diphractic article.