Something very weird happened …
So I have this app installed called "Duolingo", you can learn languages with it and I've been using it for a month.
A few days ago, my mother has received the weirdest email ever.
The subject was "Your child has created a duolingo account" and it started with "Dear parent …".
Umm, yeah. I've been an adult for a while now, and if at all, it should be me who's getting warning emails, but whatever.
This was the entire email:
This is the weirdest thing ever … never did I do such thing. I only created an account for myself. How does this thing even know who my mother is, or what her email address is?
Turns out the App Store says that this app is collecting pretty much all information there is about you on your device, including your contacts.
I saw this before I downloaded it, but I thought I could still consent or not. And the weird thing is, I thought I didn't consent and the app therefore didn't have my data, because if I go to privacy > contacts for example, it is clearly shown that no app has access to my contacts.
This means that Apple's menu showing you which app has access to your contacts is just a nice facade and nothing more than that.
It seems to be much more relevant what is stated about the app in the app store.
This smells like gangster practices …
Now I'm thinking to go tell the police eventually.
So I have this app installed called "Duolingo", you can learn languages with it and I've been using it for a month.
A few days ago, my mother has received the weirdest email ever.
The subject was "Your child has created a duolingo account" and it started with "Dear parent …".
Umm, yeah. I've been an adult for a while now, and if at all, it should be me who's getting warning emails, but whatever.
This was the entire email:
Your child has created a Duolingo account with the email address of [email address which resembled the one from my mother but wasn't hers] and with the username [username containing the name of my mother].
If this is not your child and you didn't create this account, click here to remove this email address.
If this is your child and you do not wish for your child to have a Duolingo account, you may contact us at privacy@duolingo.com to request that we delete the account. When we delete the account, we will also delete the personal data associated with it.
For more details about how we protect child data, please refer to Duolingo's Privacy Policy at Children's Privacy Policy.
Some features of Duolingo have been disabled on your child’s account, including leagues and events to protect your child’s privacy and safety. If you would like to remove these restrictions from your child’s account then please contact our support team to provide your consent at privacy@duolingo.com. In the future, once we’re sure your child is old enough we will automatically remove the restrictions, reset the settings to their defaults and make the settings visible for your child to configure how they choose. Your child’s safety online is important to us. Please teach your child not to share any personal data online, including their username and password.
Thanks,
The Duolingo Team
This is the weirdest thing ever … never did I do such thing. I only created an account for myself. How does this thing even know who my mother is, or what her email address is?
Turns out the App Store says that this app is collecting pretty much all information there is about you on your device, including your contacts.
I saw this before I downloaded it, but I thought I could still consent or not. And the weird thing is, I thought I didn't consent and the app therefore didn't have my data, because if I go to privacy > contacts for example, it is clearly shown that no app has access to my contacts.
This means that Apple's menu showing you which app has access to your contacts is just a nice facade and nothing more than that.
It seems to be much more relevant what is stated about the app in the app store.
This smells like gangster practices …
Now I'm thinking to go tell the police eventually.