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Updated February 7th, 2019 at 13:46 IST

Many iOS apps record screen taps, swipes without user's knowledge: Report

iOS apps like Air Canada, Hollister and Expedia record screen taps and swipes without a user's knowledge and permission, reports TechCrunch. According to a report, many popular iOS apps were found recording user's screen taps and swipes without informing them or seeking their permissions to do so.

Reported by: Tech Desk
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iOS apps like Air Canada, Hollister and Expedia record screen taps and swipes without a user's knowledge and permission, reports TechCrunch. According to a report, many popular iOS apps were found recording user's screen taps and swipes without informing them or seeking their permissions to do so. 

Therefore, companies like Air Canada can keep a tab on how their apps are being used without users' knowledge. Instead of masking certain fields, some apps end up exposing sensitive data. It comes as a surprise given Apple's precedence when it comes to ensuring users' security and privacy.

“Air Canada uses customer provided information to ensure we can support their travel needs and to ensure we can resolve any issues that may affect their trips. This includes user information entered in and collected on, the Air Canada mobile app. However, Air Canada does not—and cannot—capture phone screens outside of the Air Canada app,” Air Canada spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Apps such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Hotels.com and Singapore Airlines use Glassbox, a customer experience analytics company to let developers embed "session replay" technology into these apps. In of their recent tweets, Glassbox indicated it's possible for apps and websites to see what users are up to in real-time and more using its service.

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“Glassbox has a unique capability to reconstruct the mobile application view in a visual format, which is another view of analytics, Glassbox SDK can interact with our customers native app only and technically cannot break the boundary of the app,” the spokesperson said, such as when the system keyboard covers part of the native app, “Glassbox does not have access to it,” Glassbox spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Technology like "session replay" basically lets developers record screens and examine how users interacted with their app. However, the set of apps in question do not mention using session replay technology in their privacy policy.

9to5Mac's report quoted Abercrombie as saying "using Glassbox "helps support a seamless shopping experience, enabling us to identify and address any issues customers might encounter in their digital experience."

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Published February 7th, 2019 at 13:46 IST

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