You Won’t Believe The Personal Info Google Gives Away When You Buy An Android App

(8:40 am PDT, Feb 14th)

Google-Play-on-HTC-One-XL

Every time you purchase an app from Google Play, Google sends your email address, your suburb, and in many cases your full name to the app’s developer. That’s according to Dan, the creator of the Paul Keating Insult Generator for Android, who logged into his Google Play account this week to discover he had personal details for everyone who had purchased his app.

“I jumped over to the ‘merchant account’ section to see the orders and realised one absolutely insane thing,” Dan writes in a post on his blog, Internet Hugbox. “If you bought the app on Google Play (even if you cancelled the order) I have your email address, your suburb, and in many instances your full name.”

Every purchase you make on Google Play is treated as a Google Wallet transaction, and like any other merchant, Android developers receive certain personal details when you buy from them — even though they don’t need them. Google tells them not to use these details for “email marketing,” Dan says, but there’s nothing to prevent that from happening.

“Let me make this crystal clear, 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,” Dan continues. “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.”

As Dan rightly notes, Android developers should not receive users’ personal data when they purchase an app — especially not without their consent first. But Google doesn’t give users the opportunity to opt out of this — it just happens, whether you like it or not.

Not only is this unnecessary, but it’s a massive privacy issue. Developers don’t need this information from us, and so there’s no need for Google to send it to them. And going it anyway without our permission is unacceptable.

Hopefully Google will do something about this — and soon. How do you feel about it? Let us know in the comments.

Apps you might like

Comment »

  • bruce_lloyd

    When you’re using an open source OS like Android you should come to expect that security and privacy are at the bottom, if at all on, of the list.

    • tomjol

      This is just plain wrong.

      Learn about the world of Unix and try again.

    • xoj_21

      windows tracks even the apps you install.
      and linux is more secure than windows. u could get this info form windows phone device too.

      • Aleksey Maslov

        Unix-based or Linux-based – doesn’t mean it is good or bad.

  • Christopher Gumprecht

    When you accept the initial agreement with Google to create a Google Wallet, they clearly list that these are things that can be sent to the developer. The merchant can have even more specific information such as your birthday or your photo attached to your Google account. All of these permissions are things that the user agrees to (or can choose to not share) during the initial request. Not sure why the person who wrote the article is acting like this is some outragious thing.

    • cyberb0b

      Why send them at all if they aren’t being requested by the dev? And why bury all that in a lengthy agreement they know most people won’t read through? It’s out there, but deceptive at the same time. Why should someone be entitled to get all of my personal information just because I bought a silly ringtone?

      • Christopher Gumprecht

        They actually don’t bury it when you are confirming a purchase through Google Wallet. It is bullet pointed and listed in bold before you confirm it. You can actually even choose to not share part of or all the information and still make the purchase anyway. Most people just don’t end up reading it either way.

        I actually met with some folks from Google about the wallet option recently. They release this information to companies to help them better market their product or service depending on who they find is buying or not buying them.

        But, in the end, you have the option to not allow the information to be passed and still buy that ringtone!

  • cyberb0b

    When you get stuff for free, you aren’t the customer, you’re the product.

  • jdsonice

    Google is the ultimate broker of personal information. They don’t care about your privacy.

    • Aleksey Maslov

      Remember Facebook’s privacy concerns. Like if anybody cares about your privacy these days.

  • Marlene Wilkes

    If you think Josephine`s story is incredible…, last pay cheque my brother’s best friend got a cheque for $7893 putting in ninteen hours a week from there apartment and they’re friend’s step-mother`s neighbour has been doing this for 6 months and got a cheque for more than $7893 in their spare time on there mac. apply the information from this address, jump15.comCHECK IT OUT

  • cyberb0b

    I love these butthurt Goofans that down vote statements that are based, for the most part, on fact. Google sells your public and not so public information in exchange for free software and services. That’s a fact. You can down vote it all you want but everyone knows that’s how they make their goddamn money. Get over it.

  • pho3nixf1re

    I fail to see the relevance here. I always assumed this information was available to the developer and I’ve never even read the ToS. This just makes sense. Maybe the ‘suburb’, which I’m assuming is actually the city information, isn’t that big of a stretch. You seriously believe that after paying money to a merchant, the app dev, they aren’t at least entitled to know who you are? I’ve never bought anything else on the internet that required me to hand over at minimum that much info, if not much more.

    • http://twitter.com/markrlangston Mark Langston

      So you won’t mind if I become an Android app developer, get your personal information and do with it as I please? Thanks!!

      • pho3nixf1re

        You don’t magically get the data, only when I pay you money for your product. Create a crappy app or have bad business practices and no, you won’t get my data.

        • Aleksey Maslov

          You didn’t get the point.

  • Michael O’Neal

    Dan Nolan
    Dan is a Software Engineer who has been obsessed with iOS since the first iPhone came out in 2007 (and it was called iPhone OS). Dan has experience in both iOS development and server-side development, having built many internal and corporate systems that integrate with iOS counterparts. When not messing around with iOS he’s tinkering in ruby or managing virtual machines and cloud infrastructure.
    No bias there!

    • Aleksey Maslov

      Well, but you can’t deny the truth ;)

  • Pavan

    It would be interesting to know what information iOS, WP & BB app’s developers receive.

    • Aleksey Maslov

      Nothing identifying a user.

  • xoj_21

    its true for iOS ,paypal , windows store or any device that require secure manage, like if ur card was used from china, when u are currectly in ur own country. u will be notified.

  • Aleksey Maslov

    Oh, like if you never thought it will happen after Google tried to gather all information about its users.

  • tjrchka

    I appreciate this being pointed out as I don’t always read the TOS and will uncheck the info I don’t want sent. This idea of sending developers your info to me is the equivalent of shopping at a store like best buy, apple store etc. and giving them your info for easy checkout. It is funny that consumers get upset when processes are made easier and they don’t read why. Nothing is free, convenience comes at a cost. Example using a credit card over cash there is a paper trail and the credit card company knows what and where you shop. Ignorance is not an excuse.

About the author

Killian BellKillian Bell is a freelance writer based in the UK. He has an interest in all things tech and also writes for TechnoBuffalo. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell, or through his website.

email hidden; JavaScript is required| Read more posts by .

Posted in Android, News, Top stories | Tagged: , , , , , |


scribol