Apple is cracking down on apps that secretly record your screen activity.
The Silicon Valley giant has told developers that they must remove code in apps that lets them record how users are interacting with their phone or their apps will be yanked from the App Store.
It comes after a TechCrunch investigation discovered that several major companies use an analytics tool that secretly records users' screens, often without their knowledge or consent to the practice.
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Apple has told developers that they must remove code in apps that lets them record how users are interacting with their phone or their apps will be yanked from the App Store
A TechCrunch investigation revealed that many companies like Expedia, Hollister and Hotels.com are using a third-party analytics tool in their apps that lets them record users' screen activity.
App developers record the screen and play them back to see what people did in the app to see what people liked, disliked, or if an error occurred.
This means that every tap, button push and keyboard entry is recorded, screenshotted and sent back to the app developers.
This means payment information or passport and visa details could potentially be viewed by third parties.
Not every app was leaking masked data and companies like Expedia and Hotels.com were capturing the data but sending it back to a server on their own domain.
The report found popular companies like Expedia, Hollister and Hotels.com were using an analytics tool to record screen activity in their apps.
However, they often fail to ask for user permission and don't denote the shady activity in their privacy policies.
What's more, the analytics tool used by the companies is supposed to mask sensitive data, such as passport numbers and credit card numbers, but it failed to do so, according to TechCrunch.
Apple says this goes against its rules around user privacy.
'Protecting user privacy is paramount in the Apple ecosystem,' an Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch.
'Our App Store Review Guidelines require that apps
