NaMo app data is shared with third party companies to improve user experience, says BJP
The party and government officials dismissed a cyber security expert’s allegation that the app shares private information of its users without their consent.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said that the data from the Narendra Modi Android app is shared with a “third party service” for analytics, similar to Google Analytics, a day after a French cyber security expert alleged that the application shares its users’ private information with companies without their consent.
“The data in no way is stored or used by the third party services,” Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s information technology cell, told The Indian Express. “Analytics and processing on the user data is done for offering users the most contextual content...It also enables a unique, personalised experience according to a person’s interests.”
The newspaper’s analysis revealed that the app – which provides users with updates on the BJP government’s achievements and gives them access to the prime minister’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio show – asks users for permission to access 22 personal features on their devices, including location, photographs and contacts, microphone and camera. In comparison, Amazon India’s app requires 17 permissions and the Prime Minister’s Office app needs access to 14 features.
Unidentified government officials too assured the media that the data from the app saved in Indian servers and were safe. “Narendra Modi App is a unique app, which unlike most apps, gives access to users in ‘guest mode’ without even any permission or data,” ANI quoted government sources as saying. “The permissions required are all contextual and cause-specific.”
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has criticised Modi, accusing him of selling data to American companies.
Hi! My name is Narendra Modi. I am India's Prime Minister. When you sign up for my official App, I give all your data to my friends in American companies.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 25, 2018
Ps. Thanks mainstream media, you're doing a great job of burying this critical story, as always.https://t.co/IZYzkuH1ZH
The privacy policy of the prime minister’s website narendramodi.in, which is associated with the app, was updated after the data-sharing allegations came out. The website now clarifies that it might share certain user information such as name, device information, and location with third party services to “offer a better user experience”, and the “most contextual content and updates”, The Indian Express reported. The policy earlier stated that the app does not share users’ personal information and contact details shall third parties without consent.