Spotify 'sorry' for creepy-sounding privacy policy
Culture
Spotify's new privacy policy sounds creepy and it's getting people worked up.
I'm Bridget Carey, this is your Cnet update.
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It might not make much sense for a streaming music app to want to access your gps, or your photos, So when Spotify was requiring permissions to access these things in its new privacy policy people were understandably creeped out and upset.
Spotify users took to social media to complain about the concerning terms of service in the latest app update.
But Spotify has apologized and said it should have done a better job of explaining what sort of information it is accessing from users.
And that if it wants to access anything, it's gonna ask for permission first.
In a blog post, Spotify clarifies, it isn't.
Scanning your phone's camera roll.
That wording is just so you can pick a photo for your profile or put a photo as your playlist art.
And as for location and GPS, well that let's you see trending music in your area and it's part of a feature called Spotify Running.
Which serves up music beats that match your running stride, and you can turn that off.
Some are saying people are overreacting to this policy, but I say it's the right reaction.
We need to be skeptical, and put pressure on companies to be more clear about what data they collect.
Instead of hiding it in fine-print with layers of legal jargon.
Also in app news, the Google photos app has a new perk, but the concept isn't new.
It'll now show you photos taken on this day from previous years, kind of like Timehop.
It's called Rediscover this day.
And it can show a collage of photos from that calendar day, taken years ago.
It's completely private.
You have to opt-in to the option.
It's available now for the photos app on iOS, and it's rolling out to Android next.
Switching to the world of gaming, Nintendo's not so popular portable game console is dropping in price.
The Nintendo 2DS, which is like a flat tablet-ish version of the 3DS.
It's gonna be priced $100 on August 30th, and it'll come with the game Mario Kart 7. That cuts $30 off the price of the system.
It plays 3DS games, but it doesn't fold like the 3DS, and the screen isn't in 3D, and if you're looking for a new game for your phone, one of the most iconic games is now available on iPhones, and iPads Final Fantasy VII is available to download as a mobile game for $15.
The critically acclaimed game originally came out in 1997 for the PlayStation.
This mobile version is similar to the PC version and it has touch screen controls.
If you wanna just get through the story quickly, you can turn off the random enemies that battle throughout your quest But that takes away the spirit of the RPG.
The whole point is to keep battling to level up with battle after battle and get this sound stuck in your head for the rest of your life.
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Well, you won this Update, so you can keep playing on cnet.com.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
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