Islam Newsroom - "News We Need - When We Need It"
Before we talk about "Apps" and "Scams" - We must say, some apps (ours for sure) are not scams.
We DO NOT OFFER YOUR INFORMATION anyone - and our TV channel (GuideUS.TV) is FREE, no ads, no spam - All of our websites are AD FREE, and no SCAM. [Like SHARE ISLAM .com]
Who is calling? A phone app gives your contact & info to others?
A phone app gives Muslims the Salat times, a Qibla locator, a Hijri calendar, and other stuff.
After you install it on your phone . . . Your phone rings. Some voice says, “Hey! How you doing today? This is Maggie with health care updates (or travel offers, or other scams).
You just got a free phone app (there’s a reason it’s free) and your phone started ringing. People you don’t know offering you things “just for you”.
How? Data (information) is what it’s all about.
We now have access to practically everything at our fingertips. On our phones, we have dozens of apps from social media (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and now, MuslimPro) and all of it made just for us. Amazon is at your door with special deals (some call it JUNK).
“Hey! Who ordered the reminders of salat and thikr for today?”
The app on our phone has the ability to give out our phone number, address, email — and even where we do our Jummah salat.
Don’t get me wrong, some apps really do help us in today’s world (like GuideUs.app - Free. No scams. No calls.) We do have apps to help us with salat, athkar, masjid locations, and even halal/haram.
BE CAREFUL — One very popular app is downloaded millions of times by Muslims around the world
It claims to give Muslims salat times (really off at times) and Qibla finder (Google has a free finder), translation of Quran (really bad).
Source — individuals who use it
Recent investigation by Joseph Cox for VICE — sent shockwaves online after it revealed a certain [Muslim] app (allegedly) sold Muslim users' private data to brokers who then gave it to the United States military. The report found a "company called X-Mode, which obtains location data directly from apps," with [name deleted] being being one of them, and sold private information to "contractors, and by extension, the military."
Our military is ‘reportedly’ using this data for "counterterrorism" operations.
Outrage from Muslims followed these revelations. Many deleting the app from their phones.
Most apps are free — but still makes money. Users are giving info about themselves for callers, and scammers. Same thing with Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg) , Instagram (also Mark Zuckerberg), and so many others, using info you give and sell it to others. Consumer Data is used in ads geared to you. In the case of [name deleted] one of their customers is the U.S. military.
