MuslimPro
Muslim Pro is a mobile application (app) designed for purpose of assisting Muslims with their religious activities such as prayer and fasting. It is the most popular Islamic religious application available on both Android and iOS, providing services to over 100 million users[1]. Muslim Pro was created in 2010 by the founder and former CEO of Bitsmedia, Erwan Mace[2], a French national and former employee of Southeast Asia Google.
Background
Muslim Pro was founded in Singapore by Erwan Mace in 2010. It is developed and supported by a Singapore based company known as Bitsmedia. The initial release consisted of prayer time reminders and assistance with reading the Holy Quran. The app has since evolved to provide more features to the users. In 2019, Erwan Mace stepped down as Bitsmedia CEO and was replaced by Louis-Bernard Carcouet. [4] As of 2019, the application has accumulated over 100 million unique users around the world
Muslim pro was the subject of a privacy controversy due to allegations of sending information about their users to data brokers associated with the United States military.[4]
Usage
Muslim Pro is a mobile app that is only available on devices running the iOS or Android operating systems. The app is designed to help Muslims observe their religious practices and accommodate users based on their location. The app provides reminders to users about prayer times, a compass to help orient your position in prayers towards the Ka’ba, and a digital version of the Holy Quran available in 40 different languages.[6] The app also utilizes location services to help Muslims find local halal food in their area. It also helps users find the nearest mosques in their local vicinity. The application also provides assistance within the holy month of Ramadan helping users keep track of their fasting based on their location. The application can also help Muslims plan out their pilgrimage (or Hajj) and allows for connecting with other Muslims on the app by sharing posts related to Islam on the application timeline. [7]
The application utilizes ads to help pay for their expenses and also provides the option of a subscription model which allows users to avoid ads by paying a monthly fee. The application offers subscriber benefits such as additional voices for Qur’an and Adhan readings, as well as access to new color schemes. [7]
The application relies on knowing the user’s geolocation data so that the features can work. When a user opens the application, the service will ask for permission to access their geolocation data. According to the privacy policy of Muslim Pro, the application processes, stores, and analyzes data sent from the users using the application. This data includes the information the user provides such as their personal details, their geolocation, and device specific information. [9]
Ethical Concerns
Data selling controversy
In 2020, an expose by Vice Motherboard has identified Muslim Pro as one of the many applications that have had their location data accessed by the United States military[11]. The article provides details on how the United States military have been purchasing location data of Muslim Pro from X-mode, a data broker focused on location information, to help with their counterterrorism activities. According to the expose, Muslim Pro sold data about their users locations to X-Mode. The expose also details how the United States Military bought a service and technology from Babel Street, an A.I. data analysis company based in the United States. Babel Street created a technology known as Locate X, which can “draw a shape on a map, see all devices Babel Street has data on in that location, and then follow a specific device around to see where else it has been”[11]. As detailed in the expose, a former employee of Babel Street have said that data on Locate X is anonymized, but can easily be “de-anonymized”. Another point of controversy was that Muslim Pro has never stated that the data they process is sent out to data brokers like X-mode within their privacy policies.[12]
The expose also mentions other companies and applications with similar target audiences that are complicit in indirectly selling data to the United States government. Dating applications such as Muslim Mingle and Iran Social have been found to sell their data to data brokers like X-mode. [11]
Due to the history of the United States military using location data to assist their controversial drone strikes and counter terrorism activities, Bitsmedia have received heavy criticism and condemnation from the Muslim community, the ACLU, and many data rights activists concerning their actions. [12]
In response to the allegations, Muslim Pro have released a statement denying any involvement in selling user data to the U.S. government or any third party data brokers such as X-mode.[13]
References
- ↑ “Muslims Reel over a Prayer App That Sold User Data: 'A Betrayal from within Our Own Community'.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2020, www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors.
- ↑ Raj, Adeline Paul. “Tech: Growing the World's Most Popular Lifestyle App for Muslims.” The Edge Markets, 20 June 2018, www.theedgemarkets.com/article/tech-growing-worlds-most-popular-lifestyle-app-muslims.
- ↑ Ali Baker. Muslim Pro Icon. Mar 11 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 “ACLU Files Request over Data US Collected via Muslim App Used by Millions.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Dec. 2020, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/03/aclu-seeks-release-records-data-us-collected-via-muslim-app-used-millions.
- ↑ “Erwan Mace.” App Masters, 25 Mar. 2015, appmasters.com/bitsmedia-erwan-mace/bitsmedia-erwan-mace-2/.
- ↑ Pro, Muslim. Big 10 for Muslim Pro - 10 Million Global Downloads for Mobile App, 30 June 2018, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/big-10-for-muslim-pro---10-million-global-downloads-for-mobile-app-255471731.html#:~:text=Muslim%20Pro%20is%20an%20Islamic,and%20BlackBerry%20World%20(BlackBerry).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 “Muslim Pro for IPhone and Android.” Www.muslimpro.com, www.muslimpro.com/features.
- ↑ Ali Baker. Muslim Pro Location Screenshot. Mar 11 2020
- ↑ Pro, Muslim. “Privacy Policy.” Muslim Pro - Help Center, 25 Mar. 2021, support.muslimpro.com/hc/en-us/articles/203485970-Privacy-Policy.
- ↑ “Vice Media.” Vice, www.vice.com/en.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 “How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps.” VICE, www.vice.com/en/article/jgqm5x/us-military-location-data-xmode-locate-x.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 “Muslims Reel over a Prayer App That Sold User Data: 'A Betrayal from within Our Own Community'.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2020, www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors.
- ↑ Pro, Muslim. “Statement from Muslim Pro.” Muslim Pro - Help Center, 17 Dec. 2020, support.muslimpro.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052648551-Statement-from-Muslim-Pro.
