Morgan Reed started out his recent keynote at the MoDevTablet conference in Arlington, Va., by explaining that, as the executive director for the Association of Competitive Technology, "I work for you." That didn't mean, however, he was going to be anything but blunt about how developers should be thinking about the way they collect and manage customer information.

"Privacy is not a checkmark," he told the crowd of smartphone and tablet developers who attended the three-day event. "It's something that has to be very up front and clear about everything you do in your business."

Addressing users' concerns about mobile privacy
Reed used MoDevTablet to officially announce The App Trust Project, an initiative the ACT hopes will address growing concerns about the degree of openness or "transparency" developers demonstrate about how consumer data is used. A simple sign-up form on the organization's website says the ACT is looking for not only developers but user interface designers and those with policy and legal expertise.