Samsung says privacy complaints over Jay-Z app are ‘baseless’

Was Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail Android app a sleazy data grab? According to Samsung, the answer to that question is a firm no. The company has formally responded to controversy surrounding the app’s overly broad data collection. “We are aware of the complaint and believe it is baseless,” Samsung said in a statement to the Daily Express. “Samsung takes customer privacy and the protection of personal information very seriously.”

One million of Samsung’s smartphone customers received a free digital copy of Jay-Z’s latest album earlier this month, though the promotion required Hov’s fans to first install an Android application. In the rush to download Magna Carta Holy Grail, many people likely overlooked requests to collect personal information (including phone numbers and a user’s location) — data that seemed unnecessary for the app to carry out its intended purpose. But Samsung insists there’s nothing to worry about. “Any information obtained through the application download process was purely for customer verification purposes, app functionality purposes and for marketing communications, but only if the customer requests to receive those marketing communications.” Samsung pledges that it is “in no way inappropriately using or selling any information obtained from users through the download process.”