Apple Sued Over App Privacy

A California man has filed suit against Apple over the privacy of its apps.

Jonathan Lalo filed his complaint in California district court last week, accusing Apple of producing devices that allow ad networks to track a user's app activity.

The complaint also names Pandora, Paper Toss app maker Backflip Studios, The Weather Channel, and Dictionary.com.

Apple iPhones and iPads include Unique Device Identifier (UDID), which can't be blocked, altered, or deleted by users, Lalo charges.

The UDID "is now being used by ad networks to track Plaintiffs and the Class – including what apps they download, how frequently they use the apps, and for how long. Some apps are also selling additional information to ad networks, including users' location, age, gender, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political views," according to the suit.

As a result, Apple and the app developers "invaded their privacy, misappropriated and misused their personal information, and interfered with the operability of their mobile devices."

The suit cites a Wall Street Journal published earlier this month that examined 101 mobile applications and found that iPhone apps distribute more personal data without the users' permission than Android apps.

The "leakiest" apps, according to the Journal, include Pandora, Grind, Paper Toss, and TextPlus 4, which sent age, gender, ZIP codes, and user IDs to multiple ad networks. The most commonly submitted information, usually sent back to either the app maker or sold to an ad network, is the phone's unique user ID number, which can give companies valuable information on what an owner does with his or her phone.

Lalo, who owns an iPhone, said Apple and the app makers did not inform him that the apps would be sharing personal information and said this is in violation of Apple's App Store privacy policies. It also violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and several California statutes, the suit says.

Lalo is seeking class-action status for his suit. The one-year economic loss of those affected is at least $5,000, he said. Those who want to join the class need to have purchased an app between December 1, 2008 and December 23, 2010, the filing said.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 3:30pm with more information from the filing.