Summary The BJP has denied the allegation that the app was sending personal user data to a third-party domai
(Web Desk) – With reports of data breach making headlines across the world, claims that Indian PM Narendra Modi’s official mobile application has been sending personal user data to a third party without consent has raised a wave of concern in India triggering a reaction on social media.
According to the BBC, a security researcher had tweeted that the app was sending personal user data to a third-party domain.
A series of tweets by the researcher, who tweets under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson, stated that Modi’s app was sending personal user data to a third party that was traced to a US company.
When you create a profile in the official narendramodi Android app, all your device info (OS, network type, Carrier …) and personal data (email, photo, gender, name, …) are send without your consent to a third-party domain called https://t.co/N3zA3QeNZO. pic.twitter.com/Vey3OP6hcf
— Elliot Alderson (fs0c131y) March 23, 2018
narendramodi, I know privacy is not your thing but any thoughts about sharing the personal data of your users without their consent to a third-party company?
— Elliot Alderson (fs0c131y) March 23, 2018
Rahul Gandhi, the chief of the opposition Congress party, criticised Modi on Twitter following the claims.
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
Modi’s NaMo App secretly records audio, video, contacts of your friends family and even tracks your location via GPS.
— Rahul Gandhi (RahulGandhi) March 26, 2018
He’s the Big Boss who likes to spy on Indians.
Now he wants data on our children. 13 lakh NCC cadets are being forced to download the APP.DeleteNaMoApp
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied the allegation with the party saying the data was being used only for analytics to offer all users the "most contextual content", reported the BBC.
Narendra Modi App provides a platform for millions of his fans and party cadre to connect directly with the Prime Minister. It is a one of its kind App which enables unprecedented engagement and interactivity with PM.
— BJP (BJP4India) March 25, 2018
Contrary to Rahuls lies, fact is that data is being used for only analytics using third party service, similar to Google Analytics. Analytics on the user data is done for offering users the most contextual content.
— BJP (BJP4India) March 25, 2018
This ensures that a user gets the best experience by showing content in his language interests. A person who looks up agrirelated info will get agri related content easily. A person from TN will get updates in Tamil and get an update about an important initiative about TN.
— BJP (BJP4India) March 25, 2018
Last week India’s law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there were "numerous reports" of the Congress party’s connections with controversial data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. Prasad went on to ask Gandhi to explain the company’s role in his social media outreach. The opposition party has denied the charges.
PM Modi launched his official app in 2015. He is among the five most popular politicians on Twitter with 41.4 million followers.
On Sunday, the security researcher posted a new tweet saying the app had "quietly" updated its privacy policy.
After the NaMo android app expos yesterday, the privacy policy of narendramodi has been change quietly. The cached version is accessible here https://t.co/K7Uz5mUsR1
— Elliot Alderson (fs0c131y) March 25, 2018
The Indian Express reported the same saying that just a day after these claims, the privacy policy at narendramodi.in, the website associated with the app, was updated to state that certain user information may be shared with third party services. According to the report, the information shared included name, email, mobile phone number, device information, location and network carrier.
The Indian paper had reported that earlier the policy stated that personal information and contact details would remain confidential and "shall not be provided to third parties in any manner whatsoever without your consent”.
The BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya on Sunday said that data from the app is shared with a “third party service” for analytics, similar to Google Analytics, reported The Indian Express.
“The data in no way is stored or used by the third party services. 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,” he said.
