This story has been circulating and has been rehashed by different publishers. A different one from Wired was posted three days ago here on HN and it didn't get

This story has been circulating and has been rehashed by different publishers. A different one from Wired was posted three days ago here on HN and it didn't get much traction, but I did write a scathing comment [1] which, after reading this article, is perhaps even more relevant here. To summarize what I said there, it's quite hypocritical that the app's Chinese nature is played up while spreading FUD, while western apps get an implicit free pass, despite collecting comparable info. It's extremely disingenuous to spread the fear about the sinister uses of the data, while then quoting a security researcher who says that it's probably just run-of-the-mill adware. The Wired article mentioned this app may have been a Google program that seeks to promote viral apps, but hasn't followed up with a response from Google since it's been posted. All in all, this reporting is fearmongering at best and is a malicious kind of clickbait, that doesn't provide substantive evidence while causing reputational harm to a third party. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13441570#13441675 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13441570#13441675