Bank of America has set off a wave of protest by launching an update to an Android app that users feel breaches their privacy. The problem started when the bank added a P2P payment feature to its mobile banking app, according to the publication American Banker. The feature is designed to enable P2P payments between Android smartphone users. But users who downloaded the P2P update were asked without explanation for permission by Bank of America to have access to the contacts on their handset.  

A rapid analysis by Mobile Money Live of user reviews posted on Android Market revealed an overwhelming negative reaction to the update. A typical reaction runs as follows: “What??? View my contact info??? No way!! Looks like I won’t be getting any more updates”.  The bank has sought to respond to the hostility. It says the access to contacts is still controlled by the user and the update is intended to make selection of a P2P recipient easier for the users. It has gone as far as altering the app’s description in Android Market to explain about accessing contact information: “The app can populate the transfer recipient’s information from the sender’s device contact date but ONLY if users request it during the transfer process. Only the specific recipient’s contact information is accessed for the purpose of the transfer (the entire address book is not accessed).”