Tech giants Apple and Google have joined forces to put a stop against location data sharing technology from data broker X-Mode Social Inc. Based on an article released by the Wall Street Journal, the companies ordered developers to remove this software from their respective apps.
The decision of the two biggest mobile phone platforms comes in the wake of the X-Mode Social Inc.’s involvement in selling and providing data to varying government contractors in the United States. These include the United States military, those involved in the nation’s security, as well as counterterrorism and pandemic response, said the Wall Street Journal.
X-Mode is just one of the many companies that mine, buy, and resell location information. The Wall Street Journal states that a number of location brokers have also helped the government and state officials with their virus pandemic response.
Apple and Google both presented their decision to ban X-Mode to Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Senator has been actively conducting an investigation surrounding the sale of location data to varying government agencies.
The Verge says that X-Mode’s software works by providing app developers with the code called SDK into their respective programs. In turn, the SDK tracks the location of the user and sends the information towards X-Mode’s database prior to selling it to various government agencies.
X-Mode Social Inc. reportedly pays developers in exchange for injecting its software into the apps based on the number of users a particular program has revealed The Verge. It currently has partnerships or contracts with more than 400 apps.
100 apps made by 30 developers are currently found within the Apple App Store.
Among the apps that the company in question mines and shares data include programs that have a large Muslim user base such as Muslim Mingle, a dating app, and Muslim Pro, a prayer app, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Following their decisions, the two tech companies have given developers a deadline to remove the SDK from their apps. Apple has set the deadline for two weeks, while Google has given developers just seven days to remove this.
However, The Verge states the latter has allowed developers to apply for a 30-day extension to take out the SDK. Those that do not comply with the mandate given by the two tech giants will most likely be removed from the respective app stores.
In response to the accusations and the actions being taken by the two biggest tech companies, The Verge revealed that X-Mode said it merely “collects similar mobile app data as most advertising SDKs.”
