Governments Spying On Apple And Google Users Through Push Notifications, Says US Senator (Image: Pixabay)

US Senator Ron Wyden said that foreign governments are surveilling smartphone users through their apps” push notifications. In a letter sent to the US Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said that foreign governments have been requesting push notification data from Google and Apple in order to spy on smartphone users.

A push notification is a short message that comes as a pop-up on a desktop browser, mobile home screen, or in the device notification center from a mobile app. Push notifications are mainly used to alert users about new messages, updates, breaking news, and other app updates. Apps of all kinds depend on push notifications. It is important to note that almost all such notifications pass through Google and Apple”s servers.

In the letter, the US Senator explains how these notifications are used to track users. As push notifications travel over Google and Apple”s servers, the tech giants are “in a unique position to facilitate government surveillance of how users are using particular apps,” reported Reuters, citing the letter. The senator also noted that the tech giants can be secretly compelled by governments to hand over this information.

Ron Wyden has not mentioned which foreign governments have asked Apple and Google for push notification information. In the letter, the senator asked the Department of Justice to “repeal or modify any policies” that hindered public discussions of push notification spying, reported Reuters. The senator said that he received an anonymous tip on this matter and has been investigating it for about a year. In a statement to Reuters, Apple said that the federal government prohibited them from sharing any information on this case. “Now that this method has become public we are updating our transparency reporting to detail these kinds of requests,” added Apple.