Several parental control apps are privacy opaque and manipulate data for advertising purposes, research finds

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Joint research by IMDEA Networks Institute, IMDEA Software, and the Swiss EPFL has concluded that many popular parental control applications do not respect the privacy of either children or parents.

The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns that occurred in 2020 have forced children around the world to have more screen time than ever before: from video games, series, and movies to entertain them and escape from reality, to online learning and teaching.

Many parents have chosen to purchase parental control applications to ensure that their children are not accessing inappropriate content for minors while using the devices. But several researchers at the three centers mentioned above have concluded that such platforms are not as transparent and privacy-friendly as they should be.

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The research has ended up being the first multidimensional study of the ecosystem of these apps, and has also earned the Emilio Aced award, a prize that the Spanish Data Protection Agency announced last January.

The study, as highlighted by IMDEA Networks in a press release, found that 75% of these apps contain third-party libraries that collect data for purposes other than parental control: advertising, social networks, or metrics services.

In addition, of all the apps analyzed, 67% share private data of their users without their consent: also applications recommended by public entities such as the National Cybersecurity Institute itself, also according to the press release.

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The study was also a collaboration between the two IMDEA institutes and the Swiss EPFL, and opens up an essential debate on the protection of the privacy of very vulnerable sectors of the population, such as children. The researchers behind the study are Alvaro Feal and Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez (IMDEA Networks), Paolo Calciati and Alessandra Gorla (IMDEA Software), and Carmela Troncoso (Spring Lab EPFL).

In their study, the researchers highlight the concern that many public organizations recommend parental control apps without taking into account essential parameters such as privacy.

In statements to Business Insider España, one of the researchers of the study, Álvaro Feal, acknowledged that he was very happy about the AEPD’s recognition. “It shows that there are agencies that really care about everyone’s privacy, including children’s”.

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His colleague, Dr. Narseo Vallina-Rodríguez, has detailed that the study was “quite costly” to carry out precisely because of the multidimensional aspect with which it was conducted: to analyze each of the applications, it was possible to choose between a static analysis or a dynamic analysis.

“Both alternatives have problems. In static analysis, if the app developer adjusts their code, you can’t see anything. You only access the app’s code, but not that of the server it communicates with. You cannot see how it interacts with other services. In dynamic analysis, you don’t have a view of all the possible features of the app, but it’s true that everything it gives you is evidence,” explains Dr. Vallina-Rodriguez.

Feal tells Business Insider España that privacy is increasingly on everyone’s lips around the world thanks to regulatory advances. Vallina-Rodríguez agrees, and points out that the work of journalists is essential to continue raising awareness.

But he raises an objection: “There is a lot of noise. Big massive scandals. TikTok, for example. We all know it’s a horror. But you only talk about TikTok when there are a million and a half apps on Google Play that do exactly the same thing.”

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