JOHN McAFEE: Pokémon Go isn’t the only app accessing your emails
Seth Archer
BusinessInsider.com
July 19, 2016
In the wake of the Pokémon Go hype, some users were concerned that downloading the app would allow its creators to read their emails.
John McAfee, creator of McAfee security software and, pending regulatory approval, the CEO of MGT Capital Investments, thinks that Pokémon Go is the least of your worries.
“Wake up. Over 50 million users have granted apps permission to make phone calls from your phone, without your approval or knowledge, for which you may have to pay,” McAfee told Business Insider.
“To my knowledge, there is not a single major smartphone supplier in the world that does not preload malware on their phones.”
When downloading an app from the iOS or Android app stores, users allow access to certain features of their phone, like the camera or contact list.
Pokémon Go was requesting access to users’ Google accounts, which some feared would allow Niantic, the app developer, to read users’ emails.
McAfee calls apps that ask for permissions they don’t need “malware” because they can gather data without the user knowing.
“Malware is anything that spies on you, that digs into your life and finds out who your friends are,” McAfee said.
“What are they doing with that [data]? Are they selling it to the Russians? The Chinese? We do not know.”
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