Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and made public yesterday claim U.S. and UK intelligence agencies are retrieving personal data sent by mobile apps during mass surveillance sweeps.
Rovio's Angry Birds was one of the apps targeted by intelligence agencies for key profile data such as age, location and gender, and the company has now defended itself against these allegations, denying any voluntary cooperation with government agencies.
Rovio Entertainment Ltd, which is headquartered in Finland, does not share data, collaborate or collude with any government spy agencies such as NSA or GCHQ anywhere in the world.
There has been speculation in the media that NSA targets Angry Birds to collect end user data. The speculation is based on information from documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
The alleged surveillance may be conducted through third party advertising networks used by millions of commercial web sites and mobile applications across all industries. If advertising networks are indeed targeted, it would appear that no internet-enabled device that visits ad-enabled web sites or uses ad-enabled applications is immune to such surveillance. Rovio does not allow any third party network to use or hand over personal end-user data from Rovio’s apps.
Apple last year faced similar allegations it and other technology companies provided the NSA with backdoor access to its servers. Apple CEO Tim Cook denied these reports, saying last week the NSA "would have to cart us out in a box" in order to gain access to Apple's servers. Cook also has been vocal about increased transparency, asking the government for permission to talk about information requests from federal and law enforcement agencies.
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Top Rated Comments
The question, is this denial of guilt or proof of innocence? Only time and the evidence will tell.
They don't need your highscore. They are looking after your digital footprint. Where have you been. Your age. Your gender. What apps are you using. What web pages have you visited. Are there other people with similar profiles.
It's all just a peace in the puzzle.
Strange move on their part. :rolleyes:
I have a feeling that the option to not allow location information is just a "feel good" button.
Your phone is still polling the cell towers anyways. One way or another, your info is getting out and you can't control it unless you actually give it up completely.
.....even that may not work.