We take a weekly look at mobile tech stories from around the world. Headlines include… Mobile privacy: over 7 out of 10 apps collect more data than needed, Meta owns all four of the top ad networks for mobile games in Q2 2023, China lists mobile app stores that comply with new rule, but Apple missing and more…
Mobile privacy: over 7 out of 10 apps collect more data than needed
Tech Radar
Tech Radar reports concerning findings from NordVPN that up to 74% of our apps are collecting more personal data than should be necessary for their operation, including access to sensors and features not required by the app like camera data and information from other apps.
“A significant number of mobile apps that we use daily request access to device functions unrelated to their performance. And most users give the app license to spy without even reading the terms and conditions,” said Adrianus Warmenhoven, cybersecurity advisor at NordVPN.
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China lists mobile app stores that comply with new rule, but Apple missing
Reuters
Reuters reports that China’s cyberspace regulator has released the names of the first batch of mobile app stores that have completed filing business details to regulators, meaning it has begun to enforce its new rules that expand its oversight of mobile apps – but notably absent from the list is Apple’s app store.
26 app stores including Huawei and Tencent have completed their details – the requirements make it notably harder to publish apps in China and experts have said Apple’s compliance could lead to tens of thousands of apps being removed from Apple’s Store.
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Bluesky saw record usage after Elon Musk announced plans to charge all X users
TechCrunch
Elon Musk announced plans to charge all users of X, formerly Twitter, in a bid tocombat the “vast armies of bots” and as a result traffic for rival service Bluesky apparently hit a daily active user record.
Various outlets noted the surge, which was not observed on other rival services, but Bluesky remains an invite only service, and shows no overt interest in becoming the new Twitter.
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The AI rush for the iPhone moment
Financial Times
The FT explores the state of AI after the Meta annual developer conference at which Mark Zuckerberg discussed what’s next for the technology.
in their opinion piece, they liken the state of AI to the mobile industry in the pre-iPhone era where until the arrival of the touchscreen form factor, the industry was directionless and unfocused. Companies are currently waiting for their “iPhone moment” to find out what aspect of AI will catch on to make a viable, sustainable industry.
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MWC Las Vegas 2023: Top 5 takeaways
Mobile World Live
It was MWC in Las Vegas this week, and Mobile World live share a video recap to identify their top takeaways from the industry event.
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Meta owns all four of the top ad networks for mobile games in Q2 2023
Pocket Gamer
Pocket gamers shares a report from MobileAction Mobile Ad Trends report for the second quarter of 2023. and notes that Meta owns the four most successful advertising networks in gaming.
Facebook Native is identified as the most popular ad network on the App Store, with a total of 163,000 different creatives. This is followed by Instagram (161,000), Facebook (160,000) and Facebook Messenger (159,000). its a similar story on the google play store. PG form no conclusion as to what this means if anything, but does note that earlier this month, it reported how Meta may offer an ad-dodging subscription service in the EU in order to allegedly circumvent new data collection policies.
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