Verizon Spyware: Privacy Group Compares New Verizon App To Spyware

Update: The Electronic Frontier Foundation has updated its post about Verizon's AppFlash Service to note it has "received additional information from Verizon and based on that information we are withdrawing this post while we investigate further."

Verizon announced earlier this week that it will be introducing a new service to its subscribers called AppFlash. Privacy advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warns the service is the “first horseman of the privacy apocalypse.”

AppFlash, which uses technology developed by startup company Evie, is a universal search tool users to search and find content and services across different apps installed on their device. It also gives Verizon unprecedented access to anything installed on the device.

The feature will start appearing on Android devices connected to the carrier’s network in the coming weeks, but the EFF suggests that users may want to read the fine print before using the service.

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According to the privacy policy for AppFlash, the service can be used to “collect information about your device and your use of the AppFlash services.”

The information Verizon will collect from AppFlash users includes the user’s mobile number, device identifiers, device type and operating system, information about how the customer uses AppFlash and a list of other apps installed on the device. More troublingly, AppFlash also collects “precise” location information and any contact information stored on the device.

Those types of permissions may well be necessary for the app to function; Verizon’s privacy policy explains the data is used to “enhance application features,” as well as customize the user experience within AppFlash.

However, the carrier also intimates that it won’t be the only one who sees that information.

The privacy policy states, “AppFlash information may be shared within the Verizon family of companies, including companies like AOL who may use it to help provide more relevant advertising within the AppFlash experiences and in other places, including non-Verizon sites, services and devices.”

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The EFF compared AppFlash to spyware, and described its introduction as “just the latest display of wireless carriers’ stunning willingness to compromise the security and privacy of their customers by installing spyware on end devices.”

As far as optics go, the timing for such an app couldn’t be worse. Following votes by the United States Senate and House of Representatives to repeal the Consumer Broadband Privacy Rules, which prevented internet service providers from collecting sensitive user information without asking for permission, AppFlash strikes just the wrong chord for those concerned with online privacy.

Verizon does provide some reprieve for those who find the collection practices within AppFlash to be overzealous. The company says users can control whether AppFlash collects location and contact information “using settings available on your device” and provides an opt-out option for targeted advertising.

A Verizon spokesperson told International Business Times, “We are testing AppFlash to make app discovery better for consumers. The test is on a single phone—LG K20 V—and you have to opt-in to use the app. Or, you can easily disable the app. Nobody is required to use it. Verizon is committed to your privacy.”