Advertisers are sucking up student data, even after legal action, researchers say
Hundreds of advertisers are collecting valuable student data from a service that allows schools to add sports data to their informational app for students, researchers at the Me2Be Alliance found. The new findings build on previous research from the nonprofit that found the majority of sampled school apps were sharing data with advertising software kits. This time researchers examined web traffic originating from links embedded directly into the customized school apps using a utility called WebView. “These are taxpayer-funded school utility apps that have integrated some of the most aggressive advertising chains you can think of,” said Zach Edwards, one of the report’s researchers. The WebView software gives developers a way to allow users to open links within an app, instead of a separate web browser. The process makes it easier for developers to include content in their apps but harder for users to control privacy settings. WebView itself doesn’t expose […]
The post Advertisers are sucking up student data, even after legal action, researchers say appeared first on CyberScoop.
Continue reading Advertisers are sucking up student data, even after legal action, researchers say