The U.S National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain's Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) have reportedly used the popular mobile app, Angry Birds, to collect vital information on users such as their location, contact lists, and other important smartphone data.
This revelation was obtained from the documents released by whistleblower, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The classified documents were also shared by the New York Times, ProPublica, and The Guardian.
The documents also showed that the two agencies have collaborated to get information from user's phones when they send photos or status updates to the mobile versions of social networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Flickr. Furthermore, their spying efforts were part of a program called "the mobile surge". The NSA's enthusiasm over the new technique was also revealed by a slide titled "Golden Nugget!", describing Android phones and iPhones as rich sources of information.
The specifics of the data haul were unclear but it was revealed that the information was mined from apps which were introduced earlier to smartphone users. There were also some sensitive data which were gathered through the profiles created by advertising companies and these data could show the user's political alignment as well as his or her sexual orientation.
This month, U.S President Barrack Obama has announced the implementation of new restrictions aimed to protect the privacy of Americans and foreigners. The new restrictions include protecting the citizens from NSA surveillance, including limiting the meta-data that the NSA can view from the citizen's calls. However, the president did not comment on the use of leaky apps and other smartphone functions to mine data from the users.
The NSA, on other hand, responded to the questions raised about their surveillance program. In a statement, the agency said, "N.S.A. does not profile everyday Americans as it carries out its foreign intelligence mission."
""Because some data of U.S. persons may at times be incidentally collected in N.S.A.'s lawful foreign intelligence mission, privacy protections for U.S. persons exist across the entire process.", the NSA added.
GCHQ refused to comment on any program that they're use and stated that all of their activities are in compliance with the British law.
