Reseachers: “Weather Forecast” app collects personal information

Some experts believe that a popular global weather forecasting software is collecting a large amount of user information without the user’s consent. According to the BBC, a free app called “Weather Forecast – World Weather Accurate Radar” was found to steal user data, including geographic location, email address, user movement and the unique identification number of the device.

According to the data, “Weather Forecast – World Weather Accurate Radar” app is one of the most downloaded applications in the Google Play Store. It has 10 million downloads and nearly 46,000 related comments. This is an application developed by Chinese technology company TCL Communication Technology Holdings Co., Ltd. The company manufactures Alcatel and Blackberry-branded smartphones, which come with the weather app pre-installed.

This situation was first discovered by Upstream Systems, a London-based security company. According to The BBC, the company also found that “Weather Forecast’ asks to collect information including users’ geographic locations, email addresses and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers – a 15-digit code used to identify devices.” 

“TCL has also been attempting to fraudulently subscribe users of budget Alcatel smartphones in Brazil, Malaysia and Nigeria to paid services for pornography and virtual reality.”

Currently, TCL Communication has upgraded the application, but the media believes that the application still seems to be collecting user information.