Warning: *Privacy Not Included with this product
There are a number of Bible apps available with tens of millions of downloads and reportedly questionable privacy practices. We couldn't review all of the Bible apps out , so we picked one to review to give users an idea of our concerns and what they should look for when choosing a Bible app. iDailybread's King James Version Bible app has over 50 million installs on the Google Play store alone. It is a wildly popular app that says it "keeps God’s teaching at your fingertips" by allowing users to study, read, and listen to the Bible at any time as it can be used without internet access. The app is free to download and offers a $5 a month subscription to use ad-free.
Our concern is flags have been raised about who is really behind this app. It seems the company is a hard-to-pin-down mobile gaming organization located in Hong Kong and their privacy policy does raise some concerns for us about where your personal information is going and how exactly it is used. We'll just add, with all apps, including Bible based apps, users should do their research before downloading.
What could happen if something goes wrong?
What worries us about iDailyBread's King James Bible app? Well, for starters, it's concerning to us the company making the app is a bit of a mystery. iDailyBread is reportedly a Chinese mobile gaming company, and some such companies have a history of creating apps that do a lot of data collection. We raise this concern because there have been a number of reports, including this Buzzfeed News piece, laying out how too many Christian apps have targeted users for potential data profiteering, preying upon those who pray.
With that caution in mind, what did we find in iDailyBread's privacy policy? For starters, it's a pretty short, sometimes vague policy. They do say they can collect personal information such as name and email. They collect device ID and GPS location from you as well. They go on to say they combine the information they collect on you with additional information from third parties to " provide you with a better experience and to improve the quality of our services" which we assume could include targeted advertising, personalization and more. The company also says they allow third-party companies to "collect and use non-personally identifiable information during your time in the app in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you."
So they are collecting your information and sharing information with third parties for advertising purposes targeted at your interests. This isn't great and might not be what you expect when you download a Bible app to help with daily Bible study. As for opting out, they say "You may decline to submit personal information to any of our services, in which case we may not be able to provide those services to you." Which could mean you can chose not to give them your information if you chose not to use their services.
There are some concerning things missing from the app's privacy policy too. Nowhere does iDailyBread specifically state that they don’t sell user data, which is something we like to see stated clearly. They also make no mention of how they handle children's data collection and privacy, which is another red flag for an app targeted at "everyone" in the app store. One other red flag we really don't like, the only option to login to the app seem to be by using your Facebook or Google logins, which means these ad companies can collect even more data on you and your Bible app usage. We here at *Privacy Not Included recommend never using your social media account logins for other applications.
None of these flags make us feel good about your privacy as you use iDailyBread's King James Bible app. Maybe going old school is better with your Bible study? Advertisers, marketers, and data brokers will never know when and how often you crack open your physical Bible. Which means they can't target you based on how close they think you are to God. That sounds like a good thing to us.
Tips to protect yourself
- Study your physical Bible rather than this digital version that could be collecting a whole lot of your personal information to target you with ads.
Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Device: N/A
App: No
Microphone
Device: N/A
App: No
Tracks location
Device: N/A
App: Yes
What can be used to sign up?
No
Phone
No
Third-party account
Yes
You can only sign up with Facebook or Google.
What data does the company collect?
Personal
Name, email address, GPS location
Body related
Social
How does the company use this data?
How can you control your data?
What is the company’s known track record of protecting users’ data?
No known privacy or security incidents discovered in the last 3 years.
Child Privacy Information
Can this product be used offline?
User-friendly privacy information?
Links to privacy information
Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?
Encryption
Strong password
Only Google and Facebook log-in is available
Security updates
Manages vulnerabilities
Privacy policy
Dive Deeper
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Who’s really behind the Bible app going viral around the world?Rest of World
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Religious apps with sinful permissions requests are more common than you thinkCNET
Comments
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