CNN :: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this:’ One of China’s most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts

It is one of China’s most popular shopping apps, selling clothing, groceries and just about everything else under the sun to more than 750 million users a month.

But according to cybersecurity researchers, it can also bypass users’ cell phone security to monitor activities on other apps, check notifications, read private messages and change settings.

And once installed, it’s tough to remove.

While many apps collect vast troves of user data, sometimes without explicit consent, experts say e-commerce giant Pinduoduohas taken violations of privacy and data security to the next level.

In a detailed investigation, CNN spoke to half a dozen cybersecurity teams from Asia, Europe and the United States — as well as multiple former and current Pinduoduo employees — after receiving a tipoff.

Read more . . . CNN

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