GroupMe
Summary
GroupMe is an instant messaging app designed for large group chats that help you keep everything organized and comes with a lot of helpful organizational features. The app can be downloaded for free from the App Store and linked with your Microsoft account.
Breach History
Has there ever been a breach or data leak?
Date of last breach
December 2019
Microsoft admitted that between December 5th and 31st of 2019 that an internal customer support database was left public. This left approximately 250 million Customer Service records exposed, and often included customer email addresses, IP addresses, and locations.
Privacy Checklist
Is any kind of biometric data collected (health, heart, voice, etc.)?
Are you able to delete your data / the data collected about you?
Does it use cookies, telemetry, or third-party tracking scripts?
Is the privacy policy user-friendly (easy to understand)?
Does it have parental controls?
Does it use encryption to protect your data both in-transit and at-rest?
Does it get regular software and / or firmware updates?
Does it require you to create a strong password?
Is there a system in place for managing security vulnerabilities?
Does it have a privacy policy?
How Can It Snoop?
Does it have a camera or request / require access to a camera?
Does it have a microphone or request / require access to a microphone?
Does it track your location or request / require access to location data?
Account Requirements
Does it require an email address to use?
Does it require a phone number to use?
Does it require an address (home or office) to use?
Payment Options
Are you able to use a credit card as a payment option?
Are you able to use a cryptocurrency as a payment option?
Are you able to use PayPal as a payment option?
Are you able to use cash or gift cards as a payment option?
What Could Go Wrong?
Micosoft collects a lot of personal information on its users, and while it mostly does a good job keeping its products and user data secure, they have been caught allowing contractors in China to review Skype calls in an insecure manner. Microsoft apologized and changed its behavior, but this raises the possibility that someone could be monitoring your group chats. Be warned of this risk when using this app.
How Does It Share Your Data?
Microsoft collects data from users such as name and contact data, demographics, payment data, interactions, usage data, browse history and more. It states in its privacy policy it will not use anything in personal messages for advertising. However, it does use other data to target you with advertising, and shares data with partners like Verizon and Facebook for advertising purposes as well.
Good Things
- Lots of options for group chats.
Bad Things
- Privacy concerns.
- Bug bounty program.
Final Thoughts
Microsoft has been known to collect a lot of personal data from its users and handle it poorly. It was also the target of cyberattack in December 2019 that left its Customer Support database, and a large amount of user information, public for several weeks. Microsoft products should be used with extreme caution.