What would you do if you found out that the GPS-enabled app your boss requires you to use for work was actually tracking all of your movements 24/7? One California woman found herself in that very predicament, and for her the decision was clear–she deleted the app. Now she claims that decision unfairly cost her her job, and she’s filed a lawsuit to that effect.

According to ARS Technica, when Myrna Arias worked as a sales rep for the wire-transfer company Intermex her employer required her to download the job management app Xora onto her smartphone. It wasn’t until later, after she had begun researching the app and spoke with a trainer from Xora, that she and her co-workers questioned if the company was actually monitoring their movements while off duty.

Here is a video demonstration of how Xora is able to track employees using the app.

According to the lawsuit her boss John Stubits admitted to Arias that he tracked her movements off-duty and even “bragged that he knew how fast she was driving at specific moments.” It goes on to claim:

Plaintiff expressed that she had no problem with the app’s GPS function during work hours, but she objected to the monitoring of her location during non-work hours and complained to Stubits that this was an invasion of her privacy. She likened the app to a prisoner’s ankle bracelet and informed Stubits that his actions were illegal.

Following that encounter Arias decided to uninstall the app in late April 2014 in order to protect her privacy, but was scolded by her boss as a result. Then, just a few weeks after being reprimanded she was fired. Arias credits her decision to delete the app as the sole reason for her termination.

The suit is accusing Intermex of invasion of privacy, retaliation, unfair business practices, wrongful termination, and others allegations, and is asking for damages “in excess of $500,000” reports ARS Technica.

The law is a little unclear when it comes to the legality of tracking employees for professional purposes. According to Gizmodo, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) introduced a bill last year called the Location Privacy Protection Act of 2014 that included a stipulation that would require companies to inform employees how they monitor them, but the bill didn’t get past a Senate hearing.

Intermex’s constant surveillance of its employees is undoubtedly creepy, especially when the plaintiff’s boss is joking about his intrusions into personal privacy. Even though Xora appears to have some very practical uses for increasing productivity based on availability, employees using the GPS tracking app shouldn’t have to live in fear of their bosses monitoring them in their free time. This will definitely be a case to watch that could potentially affect the way people protect themselves from stalking apps.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Woman Sues Former Employer After This Creepy Invasion of Privacy appeared first on Law Street.

Law Street writer Anneliese Mahoney brought us the  ‘Dark Side of Snapchat’ recently, explaining its less-than-savory methods of use by the consumers. Now it looks like all of those dark sides have landed the company, for lack better words, in deep shit. Snapchat is facing scrutiny of its practices and policies.

On May 8, 2014, Snapchat was slapped with complaints by the Federal Trade Commission that the popular mobile messaging app deceived consumers about the ephemeral nature of snaps, among other things. Furthermore, the FTC alleged that the company misrepresented the platform’s privacy and security. The FTC’s complaints allege the following:

1. Snapchat misrepresented its privacy and security actions in its marketing to consumers.
2.  Snapchat misrepresented the ephemeral nature of snaps when it is known to the company that there are several ways to store the ‘disappearing messages,’ such as third party software available for download.
3. Snapchat stored video snaps unencrypted on recipients’ devices outside of its ‘sandbox’ (in layman’s terms this means that they were stored externally from the app). Furthermore, the recipient could retrieve the ‘disappearing videos’ if he or she connected the mobile device to a computer.
4. Snapchat mislead consumers regarding the notification functionality. If a recipient of a snap took a screenshot, the sender would receive a notification, but the FTC noted multiple ways in which the notification system could be avoided.
5. Snapchat misrepresented its data collection practices to Android app users because the app transmits geolocation information, which is in direct contrast to the company’s privacy policies. (Clearly, marketing privacy does not mean actual privacy.)
6. Snapchat misrepresented the security of the ‘Find Friends’ feature. Snapchat received complaints that the feature did not verify the phone numbers, therefore, consumers potentially were communicating with someone other than the designated recipient.

While Snapchat settled the FTC charges and has not incurred monetary penalties, the company was placed on probation and will be subjected to independent privacy monitoring for the next 20 years. If the company is found misrepresenting its practices again, it could face up to $16,000 per infringement. However, this is relatively minor punishment for the company in my opinion.

Do I think that consumers truly believe that all their messages are private? No, not at all. However, if your business platform is based on some degree of privacy and security, you should really make an effort to deliver on those promises — not have one security breach after another. The company was rated with one out of six stars on the ‘Who Has Your Back’  2014 report released by Electronic Frontier Foundation last week. Snapchat is truly innovative and I hope it moves faster on the learning curve because it is a great app. But, in the words of Dottie People, “get your house in order.”

Click here to read the original post by Anneliese Mahoney: “The Dark Side of Snapchat.”

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Ashley Powell (@danceAPdance)

Featured image courtesy of [Jose A. Perez via Flickr]

Ashley Powell

Ashley Powell is a founding member of Law Street Media, and its original Lead Editor. She is a graduate of The George Washington University. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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