{"id":146470,"date":"2019-08-09T20:08:46","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T20:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=146470"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:35:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:35:51","slug":"robocall-blocking-apps-selling-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/robocall-blocking-apps-selling-data\/","title":{"rendered":"These robocall blocking apps are selling your data"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-146474\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/06\/700_Robocall_o5iikk.jpg\" alt=\"robocall\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If there is one thing that every person regardless of race, religion, or political stance can get behind, it&#8217;s that we all hate robocalls.<\/p>\n<p>This hatred has gotten so apparent that <a href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/phone-companies-robocalls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even the FCC has taken action to stop them.\u00a0<\/a>However, many of us have still taken matters into our own hands by downloading <strong>apps to block robocalls.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, according to an article from TechCrunch, <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2019\/08\/09\/many-robocall-blocking-apps-send-your-private-data-without-permission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some of these apps are compromising our privacy as soon as we download them.<\/a>\u00a0The robocall apps Hiya, TrapCall, and Truecaller all were <strong>selling user data to third-party analytics companies.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>How serious is this?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/google-chrome-cookies-threat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apps stealing your data is nothing new<\/a>, but that doesn&#8217;t mean that it&#8217;s not an issue. Hiya and Truecaller were selling information about your phone such as the model and software, which is in direct violation of <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/app-store\/resources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple&#8217;s App Store guidelines.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Although these three apps were the ones called out most in the TechCrunch article, they are not the only offenders. Many robocall blocking apps immediately send some data to Facebook as soon as you hit the download button.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-starred-link\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-starred-link__img\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/scam-apps-192.jpg\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__col-title\">\r\n        <p class=\"sc-card-starred-link__title\">How to stop robocalls from blowing up your phone<\/p>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-starred-link__button\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/stop-robocalls-spam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\">Read now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-starred-link__link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/stop-robocalls-spam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Robocall blocking apps are nice, but<strong> you are still running a risk no matter which one you download<\/strong>. Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.<\/p>\n<h2>I have one of those apps! What should I do?<\/h2>\n<p>Fear not! There are plenty of robocall blocking apps that you can download that won&#8217;t sell your data. Again, you just have to ask yourself if it is worth the risk.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"RoboKiller - Block Spam Calls &amp; Identify Callers \" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-logo-l,f_auto,dpr_auto\/p\/997df9c8-362f-11e7-ace3-7fc4f6d23381\/2514179873\/robokiller-block-spam-calls-identify-callers-logo.jpg\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">RoboKiller - Block Spam Calls &amp; Identify Callers <\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/robokiller-block-spam-calls-identify-callers.en.softonic.com\/iphone\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--80\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"80\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"8\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/robokiller-block-spam-calls-identify-callers.en.softonic.com\/iphone\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>If you&#8217;re done with these apps altogether and want to make sure you are protected, there are some things you can do. First, you should<strong> uninstall the app in question<\/strong>. Once it is uninstalled, use an app like PhoneClean to make sure all traces of it are gone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"PhoneClean\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-logo-l,f_auto,dpr_auto\/p\/9296566c-96d6-11e6-af21-00163ed833e7\/1779342008\/phoneclean-logo.png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">PhoneClean<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneclean.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--70\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"70\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"7\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">7<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneclean.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>The next thing you should do is<strong> run a virus scan.<\/strong> Even if the app is gone, <strong>there is always a chance that something is happening in the background to send data to third-parties.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Avast Free Antivirus\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-logo-l,f_auto,dpr_auto\/p\/2d9f9134-96d0-11e6-bf8f-00163ec9f5fa\/3138861866\/avast-logo.png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Avast Free Antivirus<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/avast.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--80\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"80\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"8\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/avast.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Once you&#8217;re done running a virus scan, <strong>restart your phone<\/strong>. If the scan found something, restarting your device can make sure that everything malicious caught by the virus scan is gone.<\/p>\n<h2>Wrapping up<\/h2>\n<p>Look, we all hate robocalls. If we get one more fake call telling us about a car warranty we don&#8217;t have, then we might just throw our phone out the window. However, this doesn&#8217;t mean that we should pursue a method of blocking robocalls that can potentially do more harm than good.<\/p>\n<p>As stated before, <strong>the FCC is working on a way to block robocalls for good<\/strong>. It is probably in your best interest to wait until that plan is unveiled before you go seeking your own solutions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-related-articles-white\">\r\n<p class=\"sc-related-articles-white__title\">Read more<\/p>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"New scam spotted on the Google Play Store \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/google-play-store-scam-app\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/google-play-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>New scam spotted on the Google Play Store \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"Security alert: new Netflix phishing scams \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/security-alert-new-netflix-phishing-scams\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/netflix-logo-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>Security alert: new Netflix phishing scams \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"This ingenious phishing scam is targeting iPhone users \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/iphone-phishing\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/10\/iphone-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>This ingenious phishing scam is targeting iPhone users \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"New year, new scams: what to watch out for in 2019 \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/online-scams-in-2019\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/phishing-scam-hacker-malware-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>New year, new scams: what to watch out for in 2019 \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several robocall blocking apps are selling your data as soon as you hit the download button<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9180,"featured_media":146475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[1082,1066,1405,1751,2252],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-146470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-android","tag-apple","tag-iphone","tag-robocalls","tag-scams"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325597,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146470\/revisions\/325597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146470"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=146470"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=146470"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=146470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}