Reliance on technology has been crucial to address the current issue generated by COVID-19. So, we've seen apps really introduce themselves and know what to do with coronavirus, apps to work from home and perhaps most importantly, those that allow us to be on social media. In that sense, video call programs such as Zoom or Houseparty has increased their number of users.
However, many downloads are never translated into the good news, but rather expose their risks. Several times during this split, Zoom has been accused of violating his privacy policies and is now on the same case as Houseparty.
In the last days Houseparty, the same company that created the popular game Fornite: Battle Royale, is a popular video calling app among young users. However, for many Internet privacy experts, They say that it is an unsecured app
Most of these experts have chosen On Twitter overturning the rumor result that Houseparty steals sensitive data from mobile devices, such as application passwords, email addresses, phone numbers and bank details. Despite the lack of evidence, the dissemination of this information has been enough for experts in the field such as Gehan Gunasekara, an associate professor of business law at the University of Auckland, a Houseparty rating as "Trojan horse".
Basically, you allow this app to access your smartphone and your smartphone tells you a lot about you, your movements, your locations, your contacts, your social frequency, your contacts …
However also depending on the review of app privacy policies effective for 2018
- Houseparty claims to own all content and actions that its users share or perform via the platform.
- The House Party declares that the activities performed on its application can be classified as "non-personal data" and the voluntary installation of users is of no value (according to the GDPR, users' activities on the platform are considered personal data).
- The "No Tracking" systems are not considered, and therefore, the user continues to be tracked even when using such a program.
- The House Party is following you by default. It is possible to "unsubscribe" from the crawl when you first use the platform.
- You may request removal of the collected information, but it is not certain that it will be permanently deleted.
- "The Internet is not 100% secure" so the company is not responsible for ensuring the security of the information provided.
Still in the midst of a dispute, Houseparty has not formally denied these specific allegations. But if he has, and those who accuse him of suffering a and hacking of information from millions of app users by Russian hackers. In his defense and once again used the lack of evidence, Houseparty says it's all part of the smear campaign and He has donated millions of dollars to anyone who provides proven facts.
We are investigating the allegations that a recent rumor of fraud was spread by a paid smear campaign to harm Houseparty. We provide a $ 1,000,000 archive to the first person to provide evidence of such a campaign at [email protected].
– Houseparty (@houseparty) March 31, 2020
Despite the success of the past few days, the latest debate has been made other users have left the app in fear of stealing information. However, and in the absence of evidence, there is no indication that Houseparty is more secure than other programs used by young people.