Mimico - Your AI Friends

Waarschuwing: *Privacy niet inbegrepen bij dit product

Mimico - Your AI Friends

Beoordelingsdatum: 7 februari 2024

|
|

Mozilla zegt

|
Mensen stemden op: Enigszins griezelig

"Hi" That's what the Mimico -- Your AI Friends website says when you click over to it from the Google Play Store app page. And that is ALL the Mimico --You AI Friends website says. Otherwise it's a completely blank page. Weird, right? Also a bit disconcerting for an app that boasts diverse and customizable AI characters you can chat with about things from romance to baseball, and even send you pictures and videos. So, how does an app with no website and is, "always ready to listen to your thoughts, answer your questions, and engage in meaningful and pleasant conversations," seem at privacy? We've got some concerns.

Wat kan er gebeuren als er iets misgaat?

From what we can tell, it doesn't seem like Mimico -- Your AI Friends put a ton of effort into worrying about things like privacy, security, and helping people understand how their AI models work, or if users have any control over them. Shoot, they didn't even put any time into building an actual website for their app. That lack of effort seems to have trickled over into their Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions documentation, which all seems pretty vague and boilerplate to us.

Why is vague and boilerplate legal documentation a concern when it comes to AI relationship chatbots like Mimico -- Your AI Friend? Because these apps are designed to collect some potentially very personal information from you in the course of interacting with your AI friends. These apps are designed to ask you questions to get you to share more about yourself, to be personal and personalize, and learn from your interactions to train their AI models to be better at being personal. That means you are likely going to share -- or at least be asked to share -- a lot of personal information with this app. And when the privacy documentation feels very vague and boilerplate, it doesn't make us feel great about how much time and effort the company (that couldn't even build a website) put into thinking through how it will collect, protect, and respect all this personal information of yours.

That being said, Mimico -- Your AI Friends does say they won't sell your data to third parties, which is good. However, they do indicate they can share your personal information for marketing purposes and other "legitimate business functions." That is probably not good. And that "legitimate business function" phrase too often feels like a broad catch all in privacy policies that could leave the door open for sharing of you personal information in ways you might not expect.

It's also not clear to us if all users -- regardless of what privacy laws they live under -- can get their data deleted. We actually got rather confused when looking into Mimico's privacy documentation. Their website doesn't provide any links to their privacy policy because their website is a blank page. So, we went to find the links to their privacy policy on the Google Play Store and Apple App store app pages. The problem we found is there are two different links to two different privacy policies for the Mimico -- Your AI Friends app from those two app store pages. The privacy policies we found were quite similar, with one exception. One privacy policy actually had information about account deletion and the other did not. Again, this sort of sloppy legal documentation leaves us worried about how well the company that makes Mimico actually cares about protecting your privacy.

Some other concerns we have about Mimico -- Your AI Friends. No where could we find any information about how their AI models work, if users have any control over those AI models to protect themselves from manipulation or abuse, and no where did we find any mention of how they handle the contents of your chats for things like training their AIs or even much details about how they might use those contents of your chats for marketing purposes. Again, their privacy documentation was quite vague.

So, what's the worst that could happen with Mimico -- Your AI Friends? To be honest, it's really hard to tell. So, keep in mind if you use this app that you are using an AI chatbot that doesn't have a website, that has vague and boilerplate legal documentation, and you're expected to trust a pretty faceless company with the contents of your personal chats. As one user on Reddit described things on a thread about the Mimico app, "It is a wild west of AI chatbots now and I luv it!" It is indeed a Wild West out there for AI chatbots these days. And while that might mean fun for users, it could also mean a Wild West for data collection on you by these companies' AI models that we don't know anything about. And from companies that aren't working to think through thorny issues around privacy, security, and safety. At the end of the day, we worry a lot could go wrong and caution users to be careful what personal information they share with their Mimico and their AI friends.

Tips om uzelf te beschermen

  • Do not say anything containing sensitive information in your conversation with your AI partner.
  • Request your data be deleted once you stop using the app. Simply deleting an app from your device usually does not erase your personal data nor does close your account.
  • Do not give consent to constant geolocation tracking by the app. Better provide geolocation 'only when using the app'.
  • Do not share sensitive data through the app.
  • Do not give access to your photos and video or camera.
  • Do not log in using third-party accounts.
  • Do not connect to any third party via the app, or at least make sure that a third party employs decent privacy practices.
  • Do not say anything containing sensitive information in your conversation with AI partner.
  • Chose a strong password! You may use a password control tool like 1Password, KeePass etc.
  • Do not use social media plug-ins.
  • Use your device privacy controls to limit access to your personal information via app (do not give access to your camera, microphone, images, location unless necessary).
  • Keep your app regularly updated.
  • Limit ad tracking via your device (ex. on iPhone go to Privacy -> Advertising -> Limit ad tracking) and biggest ad networks (for Google, go to Google account and turn off ad personalization).
  • When starting a sign-up, do not agree to tracking of your data if possible.
  • mobile

Kan het me bespioneren? informatie

Camera

Apparaat: Niet beschikbaar

App: Ja

Microfoon

Apparaat: Niet beschikbaar

App: Ja

Volgt locatie

Apparaat: Niet beschikbaar

App: Ja

Wat is er nodig om u aan te melden?

Google and Facebook sign-up available

Welke gegevens verzamelt het bedrijf?

Hoe gebruikt het bedrijf deze gegevens?

We ding this product for sharing personal information for marketing purposes.

Privacy policy

"We never sell any personal information to third parties, although it may be shared only when necessary to perform a legitimate business function.

We may share your necessary personal information data to third-party service providers to help us deliver and improve Services, marketing, push/deliver notification bar message, and to help you to share content to third-parties media websites, and other legitimate business functions. We will confirm on what basis each third-party will use your per sonal information and we will ensure that there are adequate safeguards and processes in place to protect your personal data.

Analyze the partners in the service category and the advertising category.To maintain / improve our products / services and provide you with better content, partner SDK s or other applications are embedded in the software and the relevant SDK acquire your unique device ID (AndroidID) to analyze your use of our services, demonstrating advertising, measuring the effectiveness of advertising and services.

Partners in the third-party channel sharing category.To enable you to share information (such as video) on third-party platforms, the partner SDK s or other similar applications are embedded in the software, and the relevant SDK gets your unique device ID (AndroidID).

Information push partners. In order to provide you with the information push function, the partner's SDK or other similar applications will be embedded in the software, and the relevant SDK retrieves your unique device ID (AndroidID) and a list of running applications.

We will disclose or transfer your Information, only if required to do so by law, or we have acquired consent from you, or in the good faith belief that any such action is necessary to: (a) comply with any legal requirements or comply with the legal process served on us or the Platforms; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of us; and (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of our users, or the general public.

We will not share, transfer or disclose your personal information in way of violating this Policy or applicable laws. In the event of a transfer of information that may result from a possible merger, division, acquisition, asset sale, or bankruptcy liquidation by us, we will require the successor to protect your personal information in accordance with laws, regulations and standards not lower than those set forth in this Policy. "

"Web access: a variety of network services for accessing and downloading materials. You can check the status of the above permissions in the system settings of your terminal device, and you can turn on or off any or all above permissions at your own discretion at any time. Please note that when you open any permission, it means that you authorize us to collect and use the personal information corresponding to the permission to provide you with the above corresponding services. Once you turn off any permission, it means that you cancel or revoke the authorization of the permission, and we will no longer continue to collect and use the corresponding personal information based on this permission, nor will we be able to provide you with the services corresponding to this permission. However, your decision to turn off the permissions will not affect the previous collection and use of information based on your previous authorization."

"We collect information in different ways.
We collect information directly from you. We collect information directly from you when you use the customer services on the Platforms.
We collect information from you passively. We use tracking tools like Google Analytics, browser cookies and web beacons (see below for details) for collecting information about your usage of our Platforms."

"We may use the information you have provided pursuant to this Policy to provide our Services, or to communicate with you. Specifically, we may use your information for the following purposes:
- We use information to improve our Services. We use your information to help us create, develop, operate, deliver, and improve our Services. For example, we might look at usage trends to make sure the platform is easy to use.
- We use information for security purposes. We may use information for account and network security purposes, including in order to protect our Services for the benefit of all our users, and pre-screening or scanning uploaded content for potentially illegal content. We may use your information for security prevention, customer security services, etc.
- We use information to send important notices, such as alerts about your account and changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.
- We store and maintain your information for our legal obligations. For example, we may record, audit, analyze and dispose of your information according to applicable laws in case of emergency."

"When you use our Services, certain information may be stored locally on your mobile device using “cookies” or similar technologies such as Google Analytics and web beacons."

Data Trackers Found
We discovered 58 trackers within 1 minute of use, including sending data to Doubleclick (marketing tracker), Google (marketing & analytics), Facebook, and numerous hard-to-define places, such as yolobase, matrixmobile, etc.

Hoe kunt u uw gegevens beheren?

We cannot confirm if all users regardless of location can get their data be deleted.

Privacy policy

"Your local laws may permit you to request that we:
provide access to and/or a copy of certain information we hold about you
prevent the processing of your information for direct marketing purposes (including any direct marketing processing based on profiling)
delete certain information which we are holding about you
restrict the way that we process and disclose certain of your information
transfer your information to a third party provider of services
revoke your consent for the processing of your information

We will consider all requests and provide our response within the time period stated by applicable laws. Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests in some circumstances, which may include if we need to keep processing your information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. We may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request. "

Hoe staat het bedrijf bekend als het gaat om het beschermen van gebruikersgegevens?

Gemiddeld

No known data breaches discovered in the last three years.

Privacyinformatie voor kinderen

"The Platform is not intended for Children. Children under the age of 16(or other age specified by the law applicable to your region) must not use the Platform for any purpose without first obtaining parental/guardian’s consent to this Privacy Policy (both for themselves and on your behalf). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children.

It is our policy not to require personal information from minors or offer to send any promotional materials to persons in that category. We do not seek or intend to seek to receive any personal information from minors. Should a parent or guardian hav e reasons to believe that a minor has provided us with personal information without their prior consent, please contact us to ensure that the personal information is removed and the minor unsubscribes from any of our applicable Services."

Kan dit product offline worden gebruikt?

Nee

Gebruikersvriendelijke privacy-informatie?

Nee

We found two different privacy policies for Mimico that were similar but not the same. It was difficult to tell which one applied to the Mimico app. This raises some red flags for us. Also, Mimico's privacy policy was pretty general and vague, lacking information we would like to see in a privacy policy that can collect so much personal information.

Koppelingen naar privacy-informatie

Voldoet dit product aan onze minimale beveiligingsnormen? informatie

Onbekend

Versleuteling

Ja

"When you send or receive data from Mimico AI Chat App, we make sure they are encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer ("SSL") or other algorithms."

Sterk wachtwoord

Niet beschikbaar

Beveiligingsupdates

Ja

Beheert kwetsbaarheden

Kan niet bepalen

Privacybeleid

Ja

Gebruikt het product AI? informatie

Ja

We cannot confirm if the AI employed at this product is trustworthy, because there is little or no public information on how it works and what user controls exist to make the product safe. At the same time, the potential harm of the apps is high as they collects lots of sensitive data, and use collected data to train AI algorithms.

Mimico employs large language models to generate conversations and act as a romantic partner.

Is deze AI onbetrouwbaar?

Kan niet bepalen

Wat voor soort beslissingen neemt de AI over u of voor u?

Is het bedrijf transparant over hoe de AI werkt?

Nee

We found no documentation or policies that explain how this product's AI works.

Heeft de gebruiker controle over de AI-functies?

Nee

We found no details regarding user controls at this app.
*Privacy niet inbegrepen

Dieper duiken

  • 5 Things You Must Not Share With AI Chatbots
    Make Use Of Koppeling opent in een nieuw tabblad
  • AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men
    The Hill Koppeling opent in een nieuw tabblad
  • ‘Cyber-Heartbreak’ and Privacy Risks: The Perils of Dating an AI
    Rolling Stone Koppeling opent in een nieuw tabblad
  • AI-Human Romances Are Flourishing—And This Is Just the Beginning
    Time Koppeling opent in een nieuw tabblad

Opmerkingen

Hebt u een opmerking? Laat het ons weten.