Watch: ‘How do you know what you know about me?’ Actor Channing Tatum accuses phone app of snooping
In a Twitter video, the Hollywood actor questioned a popular astrology app whether it listens in on users’ conversations.
Hollywood actor Channing Tatum posted a video expressing his concerns over The Pattern, an IOS astrology app that he claimed had “too much information” about him.
While several Twitter users interpreted Tatum’s video as his surprise over the accuracy of predictions, the Magic Mike actor was actually making a very different point.
“How do you know what you know about me Pattern?” Tatum asked, asking the app’s makers to personally message him to explain their algorithms.
“I don’t even know if anyone should know this stuff. I was just in therapy yesterday...and I just get a notification on my phone this morning, whoop, pops up, and, using the exact words we were using in therapy...Is the phone listening? Are you listening through the phone? And then regurgitating stuff that I am afraid of?”
Following Tatum’s video, several people downloaded the app, resulting in some users speculating that Tatum had perhaps been paid to make the video. “Are they paying you because I’m finding and downloading this right now,” one person asked.
Released in May 2017, the app has around 1,200 reviews and a rating of 4.1 on the AppStore. “The Pattern is a social network that helps you better understand yourself and connect with others on a deeper level,” the app’s description reads. “Explore your Personal Pattern to gain insight about various sides of your personality.”
A close reading of the app’s permissions details reveal that it is both actively and passively collecting user data. The app’s algorithm uses cookies and reads data stored on the phone. A privacy statement says it was made to, “create informational readings or profiles about you or other users, how two users interact, and what is happening to you and other users based on astrological positions.”