Computer Professionals’ Union warned the public against using LYKA.
The Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU), a non-profit information and communications technology (ICT) organization, had warned Filipinos against using social media platform LYKA, citing security and privacy issues hounding the mobile application.
The Computer Professionals’ Union on Sunday said in a statement released through its Facebook page that LYKA users may end up as unwitting subjects for large-scale market research as its privacy policy details that information of users — including bank details — may be collected and personal data may be disclosed to its partners.
“Since engagement becomes the primary way to earn GEMs, this incentivizes people to share more and more information on the platform. Several things, however, raise a lot of red flags from a security and data privacy perspective,” Computer Professionals’ Union said in a statement.
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The Computer Professionals’ Union noted that there had also been reports that LYKA had been accessing a user’s camera in the background without any explicit consent, on top of other reported issues of the said app such as difficulties in converting gems to cash, as well as bugs within the app.
In addition, the group stated that there’s currently no way to deactivate or delete a user’s LYKA account once it had been created.
According to the Computer Professionals’ Union, LYKA users won’t have visibility over how data would be handled since there’s no transparency as to who would have access to the user’s personal data, enabling LYKA and its partners to do whatever they pleased with the data they amassed.
Moreover, the Computer Professionals’ Union advised Filipinos to treat their personal information as the gems that they were and remember that “free” didn’t truly exist when it comes to social media.
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LYKA, according to its profile on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, described itself as a “free social media platform that allows users to connect, discover new things, and share their interests with other individuals. The platform allows people to share photos. It revolves around a digital point system – which rewards users for engagement on the platform.“
The LYKA Gems can then be exchanged for goods with partner stores, shared among friends, and collected to redeem gifts in its LYKA Mall which covered gadgets, gift certificates, and hotel accommodations among others.
Meanwhile, LYKA said in a statement posted on its Facebook page last month that its users’ privacy was its utmost priority.
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