- Australian software developer reveals online advertising giant is sending him the details of everyone who has bought his app
- He says information would be sufficient for him to 'track down and harass users who left negative reviews' on the Play Store
- Big Brother Watch slams Google for taking decisions about customers privacy 'without their knowledge'
By Damien Gayle
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Campaigners today slammed Google for violating Android users' privacy after it emerged that the company was sharing their personal details with mobile app developers.
An Australian software developer revealed that the search giant was sending him the full names, email and post codes of everyone who purchased his app on Google's Play Store.
He said the information was so detailed he would even be able to use it to 'track down and harass users who left negative reviews or refunded the app purchase'.
A model poses with Samsung's Galaxy smartphones, which run on Google's Android OS: An Android app developer has revealed that Google sends him the personal details of anyone who buys his app
Incredibly, it has emerged that the data sharing was not the result of a software glitch, but is actually part of Google's policies for its app store and its Google Wallet payment service.
Nick Pickles, director of privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, today accused Google of taking decisions about consumers personal data 'without their knowledge'.
'The true facts about about what is happening are buried in vague privacy policies,' he told MailOnline.
'Apps are an increasing part of everyday life, so it?s essential that it is made crystal clear to consumers what happens to their data.
'App developers aren?t asking for this data, no other app stores share data in this way, so yet again we?re faced with a situation where it looks like Google has put profits before user privacy.'
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His outrage was echoed by Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the U.S.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, who said Google has 'buried' the notice about how it shares users' personal information in fine print.
'Meaningful consent is about people understanding what they're getting into. It's about not tricking them,' said Mr Rotenberg.
'In a situation like this, where people just don't know what information is being transferred or who it's going to or for what purpose, it seems ridiculous to say that Google has consent.'
The episode is merely latest privacy flare-up for Google, whose position as the world's number one search engine has made it the biggest name in online advertising.
The company agreed last August to pay a $22.5million fine to settle charges in the U.S. that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple's Safari browser.
It also settled a privacy investigation by the Federal Trade Commission in 2011 related to its rollout of the now-defunct Buzz social networking service.
Other Web companies, notably Facebook, have also drawn scrutiny over their privacy practices and entered into settlements with regulators.
Don't be evil: The episode is merely latest privacy flare-up for Android-maker Google, whose position as the world's number one search engine has made it the biggest name in online advertising
Google said in an emailed statement that 'Google Wallet shares the information needed to process transactions, and this is clearly stated in the Google Wallet Privacy Notice.'
But Mr Rotenberg said he believed that Google may be violating its 2011 settlement with the FTC.
Developer Dan Nolan broke the issue online in a blog post on Tuesday.
'Let me make this crystal clear,' he wrote. 'Every App purchase you make on Google Play gives the developer your name, suburb and email address with no indication that this information is actually being transferred.
'With the information I have available to me through the checkout portal I could track down and harass users who left negative reviews or refunded the app purchase.'
Mr Nolan added: 'This is a massive oversight by Google. Under no circumstances should I be able to get the information of the people who are buying my apps unless they opt into it and it?s made crystal clear to them that I?m getting this information.'
MICROSOFT ACCUSES GOOGLE OF 'SCROOGLING' GMAIL USERS
Microsoft took a pop at Google last week by accusing its rival of invading Gmail users' privacy when scanning the contents of their emails to target them with personalised ads.
The attack, the latest volley in Microsoft's Scroogled campaign, comes with a website and is aimed to boost interest in the veteran software company's Outlook.com email service.
It follows a series of Scroogled adverts last year which targeted Google's controversial privacy policies.
'Google goes through every Gmail that?s sent or received, looking for keywords so they can target Gmail users with paid ads,' the website says
'And there?s no way to opt out of this invasion of your privacy.'
It also includes a feed of quotes from Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.
These include his infamous declaration that '[i]f you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.'
And also: 'We don?t need you to type at all. We know where you are, with your permission; we know where you?ve been, with your permission; we can more or less know what you?re thinking about.'
Mr Nolan's app, which automatically generates insults in the style of a well-known Australian politician, is already a best-seller on the iPhone and he recently released a version for Google's Android operating system.
He told Reuters that Google acts as a marketplace when an app is purchased, hence the transactions occur directly between developer and the purchaser.
'The way the system is designed, it (the information) is not what a user would expect to hand over,' he said. 'If you buy something on the iOS app store, you purchase it off Apple, and they pass the money to the developer.'
The Google Wallet privacy notice states that Google will share users' personal information with other companies 'as necessary to process your transaction and maintain your account.'
That's different than the way Apple's App Store works. According to an Apple spokesman, the company only shares general information about the number of downloads with third-party app developers.
Apple does not pass along personal information, such as email, except with publications available through its Newsstand store, and only then if customers agree to it, the spokesman said.
Others have said they are pleased with Google's policy of passing along customer information to developers.
Barry Schwartz, an app developer and editor for the online blog Marketing Land, said it made it easier for developers to directly handle customer service issues, such as refunds.
'I want to be able to service my customers, and yes, they are my customers, not Google's and not Apple's customers. They download our products,' Mr Schwartz wrote.
But Joel Reidenberg, Director of the Center on Law and Information Policy at Fordham University School of Law, said Google and other online and mobile services needed to be more transparent about what personal information was being shared with third-party firms.
'When you buy an app, you could have a pop-up that tells you this is the information that's going to the app developer,' he said.
That was an opinion echoed by Mr Pickles, who said: 'Consumers could be asked for their permission if the data is required, but it?s wholly wrong for Google to take control of our data away from people like this.'
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