At Least 20 VPN and Ad-Blocking Apps With 35 Million Downloads Actually Monitored Phones https://t.co/J2KoBdBLeT via @gizmodo

— Kody (@KodyKinzie) March 10, 2020

https://t.co/CduT52N4sh
What! Apps spy on us? Im shocked! Shocked I tell ya! Lol!

— Peppermint Patti (@Angelsgal02) March 10, 2020

According to @BuzzFeedNews investigation, at least 20 apps owned by @SensorTower analytics firm have been secretly collecting their users' data. The summary audience of these apps reaches 35 million. https://t.co/G9v6BzIshW

— AdGuard (@AdGuard) March 10, 2020

At Least 20 #VPN and Ad-Blocking Apps With 35 Million Downloads Actually Monitored Users' Phones https://t.co/xME3cpDo85 #privacy #cybersecurity

— Paula Piccard ?? ?? (@Paula_Piccard) March 10, 2020

Yesterday @Gizmodo reported that at least 20 ad-blocking and VPN apps were secretly owned by analytics firm Sensor Tower suspected of spying on users’ phones. Yet another reason to switch to @OrchidProtocol #VPN. https://t.co/CnyMbCUJ2S

— Amanda Cassatt (@AmandaCassatt) March 10, 2020

At Least 20 VPN and Ad-Blocking Apps With 35 Million Downloads Actually Monitored Users' Phones https://t.co/b12nwC4GTA#Privacy #pii #cookies #marketing #eu #gpdr #surveillance #tracking #monitoring #profiling #persona #UserData #righttobeforgetten pic.twitter.com/TBl1qcmED0

— Rich Tehrani (@rtehrani) March 10, 2020

A popular analytics platform secretly collected data from millions of people who installed its VPN and ad-blocking apps: https://t.co/LC4B0F9Eb9
ProtonVPN is different. Our apps are open source, and transparency is one of our guiding principles: https://t.co/yOQTPPH1PO

— ProtonVPN (@ProtonVPN) March 10, 2020

NEW: Popular VPN And ad-blocking apps are secretly harvesting user data. I found the apps are actually owned by app analytics platform Sensor Data, which does not disclose its connection to them: https://t.co/d1nUgEOowp

— Craig Silverman (@CraigSilverman) March 9, 2020

Sensor Tower has been secretly collecting data from millions of people who have installed popular VPN and ad-blocking apps for Android and iOS: https://t.co/XCLakWkXSn

— Adam Levin (@Adam_K_Levin) March 10, 2020

Good sleuthing by @CraigSilverman & the BuzzFeed team - unearthed actual developers of dodgy mobile appshttps://t.co/YeNWqMPsUq#infosec #bigdata #cybersecurity #mobiledev #appdev

— WartOnPrivacy (@WarOnPrivacy) March 10, 2020

Because of course they were:

Popular VPN And Ad-Blocking Apps Are Secretly Harvesting User Data

Smh ??‍♀️ https://t.co/h3qzDYBfIN

— Whitney Merrill (@wbm312) March 10, 2020

Always make sure you only use reliable VPN and ad-blocking apps! #internet #privacy

These Popular VPN And Ad-Blocking Apps Are Secretly Harvesting User Data
- Free and Unlimited VPN
- Luna VPN
- Mobile Data
- Adblock Focus https://t.co/PqAqU7fB2E pic.twitter.com/NztiNTENbm

— Matthijs Pontier ??‍☠️ (@Matthijs85) March 10, 2020

You turn to them to block ads.
They secretly harvest your data.
They never tell you who owns their apps—and what they want to do with your data.
Apple and Google removed two of the apps from their stories after a journalist asked.https://t.co/5Q2Rj6ZwKY by @CraigSilverman

— David Beard (@dabeard) March 10, 2020

The reality is that nobody really knows what VPNs are doing. Just because they say they're private doesn't mean they are. There are no guarantees. They can collect and sell your data to their hearts content and you wouldn't even know.

The latest example: https://t.co/13xlL1z4wf

— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) March 10, 2020

“This is yet another reminder to be wary about whatever you install on your phone—and if you want a good ad blocker or VPN, please be careful about which one you choose.” https://t.co/uUfNF6mYGo

— ☘️Crispin Burke☘️ (@CrispinBurke) March 11, 2020

At Least 20 VPN and Ad-Blocking Apps With 35 Million Downloads Actually Monitored Users' Phones https://t.co/jODSfqZHUk #SmartNews

— Popcorn eatin gargoyle of Frankenstein's castle (@WanderNWoodsman) March 11, 2020

Reminder that the business model of free VPN apps & ad blockers is typically selling user browsing history (aggregated & anonymized!) as market intelligence to advertisers & Fortune 500 companies.

That’s where most usage stats in news stories come from.https://t.co/sEgqBMAswo

— Dare Obasanjo (@Carnage4Life) March 11, 2020

"Some mobile ad-blockers and VPNs siphoning user #data, report finds": https://t.co/SZIBnGBDHm #ethics #internet #cybersec #privacy #business

— Internet Ethics (@IEthics) March 10, 2020

Sensor Tower, a company that made apps billed as privacy-protecting, installed man-in-the-middle certificates on your devices that let them spy on everything you did online. https://t.co/6M2EaQPgQo

1/

— Bernie Beats Trump (@doctorow) March 11, 2020

„Popular VPN And Ad-Blocking Apps Are Secretly Harvesting User Data“https://t.co/4NklBtU0d4 #InfoSec #ITSecurity #OTSecurity #KRITIS

— Richard Peddi (@PeddiRichard) March 11, 2020

Popular VPN And Ad-Blocking Apps Are Secretly Harvesting User Datahttps://t.co/bMWukr1qpL

— WhatIsMyIPAddress.com (@wimia) March 11, 2020

Be careful who you trust to protect your online privacy. Here's yet another worrying case:

Popular VPN And Ad-Blocking Apps Are Secretly Harvesting User Data#privacy #adblockhttps://t.co/8u985BQkYE pic.twitter.com/8yIih0pXde

— F-Secure FREEDOME VPN (@FreedomeVPN) March 11, 2020

free VPN apps, ad blocking apps, anti-malware apps are FREE because their business model is to collect and sell datahttps://t.co/RjtbkSjcL1

— I audit fraud verif vendors for marketers ???? (@acfou) March 10, 2020