Huq GPS location data sharing
Occurred: October 2021
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App analysis company AppCensus, alongside Vice's Motherboard, has discovered that location data merchant has been receiving GPS coordinates even when mobile users have explicitly opted-out of the collection of this data on individual Android apps.
Huq claims to collect and process over one billion mobility events every day.
While Huq appeared unaware of the vulnerability, the findings raise questions about the nature and effectiveness of Huq's customer/partner compliance checks, which it says it runs monthly.
Civil rights and privacy advocates suggest the problem reflects inadequate advertising and marketing industry data sharing practices and governance.
Operator: Huq Industries
Developer: Huq Industries, Kaibits Software, AppSourceHub
Country: UK
Sector: Technology
Purpose: Track user location
Technology: Location tracking algorithms
Issue: Privacy
Transparency: Governance; Privacy
Research, audits, investigations, inquiries, litigation
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Published: October 2021