Canadian authorities issued warnings to 36 app companies over harmful practices including user privacy violations and accusations of distributing spam content.

The country’s telecom and competition watchdogs, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) said in a statement they have sent letters to the companies advising them to review their practices and take the necessary measures to prevent or correct “activities that raise concerns”.

Those include using misleading information to promote an offering; collection of personal data without consent; spamming users’ contacts; sharing information with other devices; and automatically downloading programmes.

“These activities put Canadians at risk of fraud, identity theft and financial loss, among other things”, the OPC noted, adding companies in the industry were in a “unique position” to detect and stop harmful practices.

Josephine Palumbo, deputy Commissioner of Competition at the nation’s Competition Bureau, stated the authority will “take action” if it “becomes aware of businesses making false or misleading claims on their app or in electronic messages”.