NSA uses "Angry Birds" and other apps to spy on you

When a smartphone user opens Angry Birds, the popular game application, and starts slinging birds at chortling green pigs, spy agencies have plotted how to lurk in the background to snatch data revealing the player's location, age, sex and other personal information.

In their globe-spanning surveillance for terrorism suspects and other targets, the National Security Agency and its British counterpart have been trying to exploit a basic byproduct of modern telecommunications: With each new generation of mobile phone technology, ever greater amounts of personal data pour onto networks where spies can pick it up.

This information was leaked along with other documents by Edward Snowden, U.S. former intelligence analyst. Files leaked previously to news outlets by Snowden revealed that NSA was spying but this newest information offers greater details of their objectives for smart phones and the many apps people run on a daily basis.

People tend to laugh at those who still have Blackberry smart phones which are known for their secure site but according to reports, Androids and iPhones were the biggest tools for information. Some of these phone’s applications only transmitted limited data such as ID number, software version and handset model.

The scope of the information that can be discovered via this method includes the user’s political leanings and sexual preference.  There is no mention in the documents of the number of users affected or their nationality.

The NSA responded to the release of the report by reassuring the public that the agency does not target “everyday Americans” in its data collection practices, but does admit that some user data may be collected “incidentally.”  The agency also reassured Americans that the process of data collection includes privacy measures.  The British agency did not comment on the documents released today, but did say that they were in full compliance with British law.

The reports suggest data is gleaned through mapping, gaming and social networking applications, using techniques similar to those used to intercept text message data and mobile internet traffic.

Most major social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, remove metadata that can give away information about location from photographs before they are published, the Guardian said. But during the uploading process data can, briefly, be available for collection by spying agencies.

Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds, said it had no involvement with GCHQ or the NSA, and that it didn’t have any previous knowledge of the matter.