Bejeweled 2, Angry Birds for iPhone violate your privacy, WSJ reports

Zynga and LOLapps may not be the only ones after your personal information for an extra buck. In a report published by the Wall Street Journal today, complete with flashy infographic breaking it down for reader, reporters found that games like Bejeweled 2 and Angry Birds for the iPhone and Android phones may be sending your private data such as contacts, your phone's unique ID number and even your phone number to third party marketing and advertising firms.

The report encompassed 101 of the most popular apps and games on both platforms and, more specifically, found that Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, knows your phone's unique ID number, contacts and location thanks to you playing the game. Worse off, WSJ suspects that the company is sending that information to third parties. In a reaction statement made today by the developer, Rovio denied all allegations that it is sending this information to anyone other than Crystal, the social network that supports its games, and uses Flurry, an analytical software.

"Crystal does not store any personal information, as insinuated by the WSJ article, nor does it utilize any data without the user's explicit knowledge," a Rovio spokesperson told gaming news site Develop. "Flurry collects analytical data to display numerical data such as numbers of users per different countries based on Phone ID and general location. This information is only displayed as aggregate statistics - Flurry never stores or displays any data pertaining to an individual."

As for Bejeweled 2, WSJ found in its research that PopCap, the game's developer and publisher, knows your user names, passwords and phone number. And yes, it too is sending that information to third parties, according to the Journal report. PopCap has yet to make a statement confirming or denying the claims made by WSJ.

And don't think these are the only games and apps that could be making some coin off your private information. The chart and infographic go on to mention that Doodle Jump, Ninjump, Paper Toss, Foursquare and even Tweet Deck are having their way with a least a sliver of your personal data. While the report does point a few fingers, its true purpose is to raise awareness to the fact that our personal data may not be safe even on our smartphones.

The report ends with a poll asking whether readers feel that games and apps should notify them of when they're accessing their information. A whopping 66 percent seem to feel that it should be done every time. And if the Journal's findings turn out to be true, well, I'd have to agree.

Diamond Dash maker: Social games 'will evolve again in the next years'

Frankly, they kind of have no choice. That's general idea Wooga studio head Henric Suuronen (pictured) seems to have put forward in an in-depth interview with Gamasutra. And it would be wise to listen--the Berlin, Germany-based Facebook game creator is third behind Zynga and EA (now that PopCap's numbers have been integrated), according to AppData.

During the interview, Suuronen gave Gamasutra a detailed explanation of where Facebook games have been, what it takes to create them from a design perspective and, most importantly, where they're going. Specifically speaking to social mechanics in Facebook games, Suuronen said to Gamasutra:

"Now moving four years forward, you have games like CityVille, Pioneer Trail from Zynga, Kabam games, Digital Chocolate games, and Zombie Lane -- great game -- and now Magic Land," Suuronen told Gamasutra. "So it has really evolved. So why would the progression stop here? So I think it will evolve, as it has done from four years ago with Jetman and Scrabulous and Tower Bloxx. So it will evolve again in the next years."

The hit maker behind Diamond Dash recently released its seventh game on Facebook, Magic Land, which enjoys a healthy 3.4 million monthly players and over 330,000 daily players. According to Suuronen, Wooga's latest game had the most man hours thrown into it, a trend he seems to believe will continue. "The whole myth of the minimum viable product -- it's gone," Suuronen told Gamasutra. "It's something that you say to investors to sound cool."

Sure, Suuronen believes that players will eventually get tired of the standard social gaming mechanics of sharing gifts and helping asynchronously. However, the Wooga studio head also points out that the harsh reality of designing Facebook games to get players to pay up isn't going anywhere, and some traditional designers have trouble coming to grips with that.

Considering social games are expected to make $1 billion this year alone (and cash in even more from there), traditional designers and companies better wise up quick if they want to fit in the next big money machine. Read Suuronen's full interview with Gamasutra here, in which he predicts how you might be enticed to pay up in the future.

Do you agree that Facebook games can only grow into more robust entertainment options from here? Where would you like to see the industry go from today's CityVille's and other life simulators? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments