The developer behind the popular Mr. Number mobile messaging service is lashing out at Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), claiming changes to its Android content policy forced the removal of the app's crowd-sourced Caller ID feature.
Mr. Number offers free messaging solutions alongside features like call and text blocking--the opt-in Caller ID service compiled crowd-sourced data on telemarketers, phishers and robocallers, automatically blocking their phone numbers for all users. "We've spent almost nothing on advertising, but almost 5 million people have downloaded the Android version of Mr. Number and most of you opted in to crowd-sourced Caller ID," writes Mr. Number Director of Community Walter Thompson on the firm's blog. "Combining this with commercial sources we were able to return a name for almost 80 percent of the calls and texts our users got from numbers they didn't recognize."
According to Mr. Number, Google contacted the company in July to voice concerns with the Caller ID feature. "First, Google pointed out that your contacts haven't consented to be in Mr. Number's database," Thompson writes. "True, but your contacts don't get to consent before you upload them to Facebook, LinkedIn or Google itself. (Since Google can share data across all of its products, it's not clear how Google uses your contact data.) Like Google, Facebook, Salesforce and every other app that works with contact data, we rely on your permission. In fact, we told you not to opt in to crowd-sourced Caller ID unless you had permission from their contacts and we offered a paid version instead."
Google also contended that Mr. Number published private information--specifically, the names of blocked callers. "We disagreed," Thompson says. "Telling you that the person calling your mobile phone right now is named Joe is not the same as making Joe's phone number public. Joe has already shared his phone number with you, simply by calling you, and you have the right to know who is calling or texting you before you answer. And if Joe dials *67 to block his number, he blocks Mr. Number too." Thompson adds that Google accepted the explanation but asked Mr. Number to add expanded disclosure language to its opt-in page, which the developer did.
But in late July, Google overhauled its Play storefront developer program and accompanying terms of service, introducing stringent new mobile advertising restrictions as well as clarifying its payment, subscription billing and spam policies. An updated Personal and Confidential Information clause states "We don't allow unauthorized publishing or disclosure of people's private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, driver's and other license numbers or any other information that is not publicly accessible."
The change effectively forced Mr. Number to disable the Caller ID feature. The developer said it will work to restore the functionality: "We could quit Google Play and ask you to download Mr. Number directly from our website. But you cannot install Android apps from the Web without changing a setting on your phone and tapping through multiple warning messages that imply off-market apps are suspicious," Thompson writes, adding "It's not a realistic option for a commercial developer."
