The CDT (Center for Democracy & Technology) has warned the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) of releasing ads that have high-frequency embedded sounds and violate users' privacy.
According to the formal complaint (PDF) filed by CDT, advertisers such as SilverPush, Drawbridge, and Flurry develop and hold advertisements that load high-frequency sounds on the devices that appear.
CDT reports that these ultrasonic sounds scan the space for other devices, such as cell phones phones, tablets, televisions, computers, and wearables, linking their presence with a browser cookie, an IP address, and indirectly with the user.
Every time the device owner opens a page that serves such ads, the network διαφημίσεων είναι σε θέση να τον αναγνωρίσει με base the "digital footprints” of the device that are recorded in their databases. In the data collected there are of course also the traces of previous visits from other devices that have been marked by the ultrasound sounds.
Η τεχνολογία είναι αρκετά αμφίβολη καθώς επιτρέπει στους διαφημιστές να παρακολουθούν τους users, ακόμη και αν δεν θέλουν να παρακολουθούνται. Επιπλέον, η πρακτική και δεν περιλαμβάνει επιλογές που θα μπορούσαν να χρησιμοποιήσουν οι χρήστες για να προστατευθούν.
CDT reports that since April 2015, ultrasound ads and SilverPush (SDK) tracking software have been integrated into 67 mobile applications, allowing the company to monitor 18 millions of smartphones and an unknown number of nearby devices.
The FTC is reviewing the CDT's complaint, and is expected to make an official announcement in the coming days.
