New study finds apps for President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney download your personal data

CLEVELAND - Downloading one of their apps apparently isn’t enough for the presidential contenders. They want your personal info.

President Obama and Mitt Romney both released smartphone apps to promote their campaigns, but they could make your privacy fair game.

That’s according to a new report from GFI Software, a web security company founded in 1992.

In exchange for customers downloading the apps, the apps will access lots of personal information.

Researchers found, the Obama app called “Obama for America” can access your GPS location, contact list, calls and message log, and SD Card contents.

The Romney app called “Mitt’s VP” asks to access your phone’s audio recording features and camera.

The Romney app also asks for the user’s name, address and home phone number to create a “MyMitt” account, or a connection to Facebook, where friend information can be accessed.

On the surface, the Obama app is intended to find potential voters in swing states. The Romney app offered a way for supporters to get campaign updates first, such as the Vice Presidential pick.

Accessing location and contacts are two aspects that are abused in apps that leak data.

More information can be found at: www.gfi.com/blog/privacy-and-politics-in-the-mobile-age.