A new report by The Washington Post claims that they’ve found 5,400 hidden app trackers spying and stealing user data, in just one single week. The report claims Apple is misleading with their advertising.

The controversial “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone” ad campaign has brought a lot of unwanted (for Apple) attention to issues regarding their mobile platform. After Apple’s bold claims, The Washington Post discovered that a lot of third-party apps have way too much access to your data, and Apple isn’t doing anything about it.

Over 5,400 trackers were found in just a single week, sending Geoffrey A. Fowler‘s personal data to companies he has never heard about before. Trackers were found in places they had no right to be. They weren’t there just to show you relevant ads but to outright steal your private information and sell it to the highest bidder.

The firm “Disconnect” helped Mr Fowler analyse the device. Their CTO and former National Security Agency researcher Patrick Jackson commented on the matter:

“This is your data. Why should it even leave your phone? Why should it be collected by someone when you don’t know what they’re going to do with it? […] I know the value of data, and I don’t want mine in any hands where it doesn’t need to be,”

Apple should take more responsibility for what apps on their platform do with their users’ data, says The Washington Post. While Apple carefully lets users block access to microphone, camera, location and similar settings for certain apps, it turns a blind eye towards other forms of data collection that are running like the wild west on your iPhone.

While Apple takes better care than most in terms of their own services and encrypts data, or even doesn’t collect it in the first place, they’re not acting on the real issue, which are third-parties.

[via The Washington Post]