Apple Sued for Letting Our Apps Track Us

Apple allows iPhone and iPad apps to send users' personal info to advertising networks without consent, according to a lawsuit filed last week. The suit says the gadgets contain identifying devices that let these networks track users' app downloads and usage, Bloomberg reports. Some apps also sell information like users' "location, age, gender, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political views" to advertisers, the suit alleges.

Other defendants named in the action include Pandora, the Weather Channel, and Dictionary.com apps. The lawsuit says users can't block their iPhones and iPads' "Unique Device Identifiers"; it also holds that Apple claims not to allow apps to hand out user information without consent. The transmission of such data without permission is banned by federal law, notes the suit, which seeks class action status. (Click to read a Wall Street Journal investigation of tracking apps.)