Apple and Google have asked app developers who are using X-Mode SDK for tracking location data of the users to eliminate the code from their apps or face ban on App Store and Play Store.
According to Wall Street Journal, both the companies have banned X-Mode from collecting any location data from smartphones running their operating systems.
Both Apple and Google disclosed their decision to ban X-Mode to investigators working for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), who has been conducting an investigation into the sale of location data to government entities, the Journal reported.
X-Mode works by giving developers code to put into their apps, known as an SDK, which tracks users’ location and then sends that data to X-Mode, which sells it. In return, X-Mode pays the developer a certain amount based on how many users the app has.
A review conducted by Apple found that 100 apps were made by 30 developers comprising X-Mode’s software.
Apple and Google have given two weeks and one week, respectively to the developers for removing X-Mode SDK from their apps.
X-Mode has provided data to several US government contractors for national security, counterterrorism and pandemic response, according to its privacy policy and public-spending records, as per another media report. The company reportedly said that it was re-evaluating its government work.
