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iPhone App Issue: Privacy

August 2nd, 2008

There are a lot of free apps hitting the iPhone and iPod Touch App Store which help you keep data–to do lists, reminders, voice notes, etc. However, they have an interesting twist: instead of simply being apps which keep the data on your device, they require you to sign up for an account with the maker. Now, perhaps in some cases, like the voice transcription services in “Jott”, there is a need to do this–the CPU on the iPhone might be too taxed, and/or the memory not big enough to hold the software. But in most cases, there is simply no need for transmitting the data–your iPhone can keep and store voice memos without sending them to some corporate server, and certainly this is true with text and schedule notes. But services like “Reqall” and “Zenbe Lists,” both recent additions, join a list of other apps which require you to sign up for a service which is unnecessary for the task the app does. There is probably no reason to believe that these people want to peep in on your private life, but I would have a concern that they’re trying to get my marketing data.

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  1. ykw
    August 3rd, 2008 at 02:41 | #1

    They definitely want to sell you more stuff in the future; and knowing how to contact you is the first step.

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