The Federal Trade Commission has entered into a Consent Order with Retina-X Studios and its founder for alleged violations of federal privacy laws involving three “stalkerware” apps known as Mobile Spy, Phone Sheriff and Teen Shield. Downloading each app required circumvention of a mobile device’s security protection without verifying that the apps were being used for a legitimate purpose, such as a parent monitoring a child or an employer tracking an employee.
As part of the consent order, Retina-X agreed that:
- activating any monitoring functionality of an app shall not require jailbreaking a mobile device;
- prior to selling or distributing such apps, Retina-X must obtain an express written attestation from the purchaser that it will use the app for legitimate and lawful purposes by authorized users;
- an installed app must display an icon that a user can click for a notice that identifies the app and that it is running on the device and where and how to obtain further information on the app and
- it would delete personal information previously collected from the apps
The FTC Retina-X Studios Consent Order is available here. Contact us at Ossian Law P. C. regarding any information technology law matter.
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