Amazon is being sued for allegedly surreptitiously following customers via their phones

Customers sued Amazon on Wednesday, claiming the online retailer sold the information it gathered and surreptitiously tracked their whereabouts using their phones.
A proposed class action in a federal court in San Francisco claims that Amazon gave tens of thousands of app developers code known as the Amazon Ads SDK to implant in their apps, so gaining “backdoor access” to users’ phones.

This reportedly made it possible for Amazon to gather a vast quantity of time-stamped geolocation data on the whereabouts of customers’ homes, workplaces, shops, and visits, disclosing private information including sexual orientations, religious affiliations, and health issues.
“Amazon has effectively fingerprinted consumers and has correlated a vast amount of personal information about them entirely without consumers’ knowledge and consent,” the complaint stated.

Felix Kolotinsky of San Mateo, California, filed the case, claiming that Amazon used the “Speedtest by Ookla” software on his phone to gather his personal data.
He claims that Amazon’s actions violated both a state statute against unauthorized computer access and California’s criminal code, and he is requesting unspecified damages for millions of Californians.
Requests for comment were not immediately answered by Seattle-based Amazon. Requests for more comment were not immediately answered by the plaintiff’s attorneys.
People and authorities are increasingly protesting that businesses are attempting to make money off of data collected by cellphones without permission.

The state of Texas filed a lawsuit against Allstate on January 13 for allegedly utilizing smartphones to follow drivers, using the information to reject coverage or increase premiums, and then selling the information to other insurance companies.
According to Allstate, their data gathering process conforms completely with all applicable laws and regulations. Since then, Allstate has been the target of at least eight such private lawsuits.
Kolotinsky v. Amazon.com Inc. et al. is the case number 25-00931 in the Northern District of California U.S. District Court.