Popular Muslim Prayer App Under Fire As Controversy Over Leaked Data Emerges

Muslim Pro is an Islamic daily prayer app with almost 150 million downloads worldwide. Now, those 150 million users are at risk.

According to a new investigation by Vice, Muslim Pro — which tracks its users’ locations — is among many other “innocuous-seeming” apps that have been providing their users’ locations to data brokers, which it’s claimed the U.S. military buys. Muslim dating app, Muslim Mingle, is also included in this data brokerage.

Muslim Pro denied selling any personal data to the military, but they did admit that the app shared data with X-mode, the third-party data broker in question. Now, they have cut ties with all brokers and in a statement said: “We have decided to terminate our relationships with all data partners, including X-Mode, effective immediately.”

MPAC Policy Analyst, Adam Beddawi, questioned the response by USSOCOM Navy Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, who maintained that the government was abiding by “established procedures and policies for protecting the privacy, civil liberties, constitutional and legal rights of American citizens.”

“This betrays the significant gap which exists between American citizens’ understanding of data collection practices and the data collectors themselves,” he said. “Without competitors, MuslimPro has exclusive rights over this type of data and can sell to the highest bidder — or trade it to the government in exchange for relaxed regulations on data collection. They are also as close to a necessity as an app can be, given the recent process of digitization and the importance of prayer to Muslims. The implications for American Muslims’ safety go without saying.”

In a statement to Business Insider, Zahariah Jupary, the head of community at Muslim Pro, said, “Since we were made aware of the situation, we have launched an internal investigation and are reviewing our data governance policy to confirm that all user data was handled in line with all existing requirements. We will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure that our users practice their faith with peace of mind, which remains Muslim Pro’s sole mission since its creation.”

Johanna Mustafa, the Policy and Advocacy Manager at Poligon, expressed concern about the breach. “Poligon is alarmed by the recent news reports revealing that the data of over 98 million users has been compromised by the Muslim Pro App. We recognize that while consumer-facing platforms are often restricted from sharing such information, certain loopholes allow for data brokers and third-party groups without a direct relationship to consumers to share private data with government institutions.”

She also said, “We’re calling on our representatives in Congress to investigate such loopholes and protect the Fourth Amendment right of the people to be ‘secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.’ Our information should not be for sale, and federal privacy laws must be addressed with the utmost concern.”