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The Weather Channel app is one of the most popular apps for smartphones. It has been around forever and has racked up over 100 million downloads over the years on both iOS and Android. The app registers tens of millions of active users every month. If you\u2019re one of the people who have The Weather Channel app on your phone, unfortunately, we\u2019ve got some bad news for you.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit<\/a> is based on what the State of California calls incomplete permissions requests. Basically, The Weather Channel app requests access to your location data but doesn\u2019t give you the full details about why it wants them. The app says it needs the details to provide you with accurate weather reports but doesn\u2019t say that the data will also be used to help advertisers target you better or even sold to a third party.<\/p>\n Protect your privacy, choose this search engine over Google<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n Speaking to the New York Times<\/a> about the lawsuit, Los Angeles City Attorney Michael N. Feur said, \u201cIf the price of getting a weather report is going to be the sacrifice of your most personal information about where you spend your time day and night\u2026 you sure as heck ought to be told clearly in advance.\u201d It is the deceptive practice that the State of California is taking issue with, particularly with the sensitive nature of location data.<\/p>\n Interestingly, Feur is arguing in the case that small print alone isn\u2019t enough. The details about how The Weather Channel app will use user data are included in the privacy policy of the app but aren\u2019t mentioned in the standard permission request at the time of download. Feur is taking aim at the underhand ways in which tech companies like Facebook and Google use our personal data.<\/p>\n Facebook vs Facebook Lite: What are the differences between the apps? \u25ba<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n \r\n How to find out what Facebook knows about you \u25ba<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n How to bulk delete apps and website logins on Facebook \u25ba<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n \r\n How to download all your Facebook data in just a few minutes \u25ba<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n Through the lawsuit, Feur is seeking penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation, but the liability will only apply in the state of California. There is a still a good chance, however, that this could still cost IBM, which bought The Weather Channel app for $2 billion in 2015, a lot of money should the ruling go against it. Feur is also hoping that his lawsuit will inspire other lawsuits around the country that will aim to give users more control over their private data<\/p>\n If you have The Weather Channel app installed on your phone now, you\u2019re probably going to want to delete it. We can recommend a couple of good weather apps for your consideration. You could use these as direct replacements for The Weather Channel app or at least use them while you look into a replacement yourself.<\/p>\n\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n ![](\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/11\/google-green-192.jpg\")
\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Which weather app should replace The Weather Channel app?<\/h3>\n
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