August 14, 2009 by Jenny Sanderson
According to a blog post written by a Unix-literate Palm Pre user, the resurgent manufacturer could be collecting data on their users without permission. Joey Hess told technology blog, ‘The Reg’ that after ‘rooting’ his pre so that he could see all the files in the OS he noticed log files indicating that the system was uploading files and information about his usage of the phone.
According to Hess, the information palm is harvesting includes fairly basic information like what apps you are using, how long you’re using them for, when those apps crash. However, somewhat more troublingly, the system is also uploading GPS information about where phone users are at any given time, a situation about which Hess seemed very worried indeed, “It seems both unnecessary and a large privacy risk.”
In response, Palm had this to say…
“Our privacy policy is like many policies in the industry and includes very detailed language about potential scenarios in which we might use a customer’s information, all toward a goal of offering a great user experience. For instance, when location based services are used, we collect their information to give them relevant local results in Google Maps. We appreciate the trust that users give us with their information, and have no intention to violate that trust.”
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