Security firm Bitdefender preyed on the privacy-conscious tendencies of the smartphone user when it released its Clueful app last July, with its aim to snitch on apps which may be using your private data, UDID, or other such sensitive info they’ve often no business snooping through. Rather than allowing iOS users to continue believing in the fallacy that every app developed follows stringent ethical practice, Bitdefender sought to expose and in turn, inform users of exactly how apps may use your data without your knowing.
We live in a Digital Age, but whilst happy to sound-off on Twitter when a sensitive subject or issue is raised (Read: "Instagram is going to sell our images, abandon ship!" hysteria), most of those proclaiming to care about their privacy and security are decidedly reckless in applying it in practice. This is where Clueful comes in. No user is going to run in-depth analyses of every single app they install, so as a security firm, Bitdefender has done the leg work in producing an app which identifies flagrant abusers of your personal data.
The original app, as so often is the case where Apple was concerned, was subject to impromptu departure in the height of last year’s summer, and although neither Bitdefender nor Apple were to explain the reasoning behind its departure, it would seem unlikely that the Cupertino took too kindly to the presence of what it may have seen as an ‘anti-app’ app, defaming the legitimacy of its iconic store.
Nonetheless, a Web app is something Apple interfere with, and once again offers an easy-to-navigate database of apps and info on how they may share your personal data. As well as the search function, there’s also feature to check out the App Store’s ‘top free’ apps, the biggest offenders, and those most recently analyzed by Bitdefender.
If you want to check out the Clueful app, point your browser to www.cluefulapp.com Two of the biggest offenders include apps by the name of "Free Music Download" and "Free Video Download". Should that be surprising?
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