A review by Apple has found that 100 apps on the App Store made by 30 developers contained X-Mode’s software.
The Cupertino based company is now giving developers two weeks to remove the X-Mode SDK from their app or risk being banned from the App Store. Similarly, Google is giving developers one week to comply. However, in the Mountain View company’s case it is allowing developers to request an extension, of up to 30 days, if they need more time to comply.
Though it may seem that Apple and Google are being extra strict on protecting their user’s privacy, the fact is that government agencies buying citizen’s location data is. But based on a report by Motherboard in November, what may have gotten X-Mode banned by Apple and Google was because it sold location data it gathered to contractors that worked for the US Military.
On the flip side, X-Mode claims it has been compliant with various policies when it sells location data to third parties. This including those set by Google, Apple, the European Union’s GDPR , and CCPA . For example, X-Mode’s privacy policy states that users in California have a right to opt-out of the sale of their information based on the rules set by the CCPA. Similarly, for GDPR, the X-Mode said it obtains the consent of users before they use their personal data.
Though the company has claimed this, there is no way to know for certain just whether it truly has followed through on the rules of its privacy policies.