50% of Android Apps & 25% of iPhone Apps pull sensitive data off your phone
 

Lookout found that nearly a quarter of the iPhone apps and almost half the Android apps contained software code that contained those capabilities.

The code had been written by the third parties and inserted into the applications by the developers, usually for a specific purpose, such as allowing the applications to run ads. But the code winds up forcing the application to collect more data on users than even the developers may realize, Lookout executives said.

"We found that not only users, but developers as well, don't know what's happening in their apps, even in their own apps, which is fascinating," said John Hering, CEO of the San Francisco-based Lookout.

Part of the problem is smart phones don't alert users to all the different types of data the applications running on them are collecting. IPhones only alert users when applications want to use their locations.

And while Android phones offer robust warnings when applications are first installed, many people breeze through them for the gratification of using the apps quickly.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100728/...t_apps_privacy

Is that why so many people on FB have had their accounts compromised? Mobile apps?

I'm not sure if another 3rd party app would be able to access the FB login data from the FB App.

Specific details and some examples sure would be nice.

When they say "collect" does that mean that private information is sent to their servers?