SINGAPORE – Muslim Pro, an Islamic mobile application that currently has almost 100 million users, has refuted a claim that it is selling the personal data of its users to the US military.
“Media reports are circulating that Muslim Pro has been selling personal data of its users to the US military. This is incorrect and untrue,” said the Muslim Pro Team in a statement posted on its website today.
Muslim Pro is committed to protecting and securing the users’ privacy, it said, adding: “This is a matter we take very seriously.”
The team said it applies industry-standard security arrangements and protective measures, and select leading technology partners to keep the data safe and secure on its cloud infrastructure.
“We have also been open and transparent about the personal information we collect, store and process because the trust of millions brothers and sisters of the ummah put in Muslim Pro every day means everything to us,” it said.
Founded in 2009, Muslim Pro is developed by technology start-up Bitsmedia, which is headquartered in Singapore.
In July 2017, Bitsmedia and Muslim Pro were acquired by Bintang Capital (Malaysia) and CMIA (Singapore).
The company has expanded its regional presence with local offices in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
The team said apart from its community section, every single feature of the Muslim Pro app is available without signing up or logging in.
“This contributes to the anonymity of data we collect and process,” it said.
In its efforts to better serve the users and help businesses enhance their product and service offerings, the team said it shares anonymised data with selected technology partners that are required to comply with global laws and regulations around data privacy protection.
“Since we were made aware of the situation, we have launched an internal investigation and are reviewing our data governance policy to confirm that all user data was handled in line with all existing requirements.
“Regardless, we have decided to terminate our relationships with all data partners, including X-Mode, effective immediately,” it said.
It was reported that the US military allegedly bought Muslim Pro's data through a third-party data broker called X-Mode.
The Muslim Pro Team said it is committed to helping the Muslim community practise their faith.
“Our comprehensive Islamic mobile application reaches almost 100 million users across more than 216 countries worldwide,” it said.
Apologising to all the users for the concern that these reports have caused them, the team said: ’’We can confirm that their data is secure with us. We value the importance of practising one’s faith, as well as our users’ privacy and will do everything we can to ensure we deliver on this promise.” – Bernama, November 18, 2020
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