Path, Hipster apologise for data leak

Path and Hipster have issued apologies following reports that their iPhone apps leaked sensitive user data.

Both firms' applications uploaded users' address-book information to company servers without permission to help them locate friends running the same software.

Path is a social media application billed as a "smart journal that helps you share life with the ones you love". Chief executive David Morin has now acknowledged that the firm "made a mistake" with its implementation of the 'Add Friends' feature.

"Through the feedback we've received from all of you, we now understand that the way we had designed our 'Add Friends' feature was wrong," he said in a blog post.

Morin added that all data was encrypted before it was sent to the company servers, but assured customers that it has since been deleted. Path now asks for verification before using contact list information.

Hipster, a service which enables iPhone users to send digital postcards, was also found to be uploading user data to its servers without permission.

"We blew it, we're sorry, and we're going to make it right," Hipster boss Doug Ludlow wrote on the Tech Crunch blog. "When we built our 'Find Friends' feature for iOS, we clearly dropped the ball when it comes to protecting our users' privacy."

The firm has applied a similar fix to Path, giving customers the choice to opt-in to data sharing.

The incidents have sparked widespread concern over app privacy, leading Ludlow to organise a summit at Hipster's San Francisco headquarters where developers will discuss the matter.

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