Modi app sparks social media furore

Indian PM Narendra Modi's official mobile application has been criticised for sending personal user data to a third party without their consent, reports BBC from New Delhi. A security researcher had tweeted that the app was sending personal user data to a third-party domain that was traced to a US company.

Mr Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied the allegation. The party said the data was being used only for analytics to offer all users the "most contextual content". The researcher, who tweets under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson, posted a series of tweets on Saturday stating Mr Modi's app was sending personal user data to a third party. Rahul Gandhi, the chief of the the main opposition Congress party, took to Twitter on Sunday to criticise Mr Modi. The BJP responded swiftly, saying Mr Gandhi was trying to divert attention.

Last week India's law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there were "numerous reports" of the Congress party's connections with controversial data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. He asked Mr Gandhi to "explain" the company's role in his social media outreach.

The opposition party has denied the charges. Cambridge Analytica is embroiled in a storm over claims it exploited the data of millions of Facebook users. The security researcher later posted a new tweet on Sunday saying Mr Modi's app had been "quietly" updated its privacy policy. Mr Modi launched his official app in 2015, adding another platform to his massive social media presence. He is among the five most popular politicians on Twitter with 41.4 million followers.

Modi app sparks social media furore

Indian PM Narendra Modis official mobile application has been criticised for sending personal user data to a third party without their consent, reports BBC from New Delhi. A security researcher had tweeted that the app was sending personal user data to a third-party domain that was traced to a US company. Mr Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied the allegation. The party said the data was being used only for analytics to offer all users the most contextual content. The researcher, who tweets under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson, posted a series of tweets on Saturday stating Mr Modis app was sending personal user data to a third party. Rahul Gandhi, the chief of the the main opposition Congress party, took to Twitter on Sunday to criticise Mr Modi. The BJP responded swiftly, saying Mr Gandhi was trying to divert attention. Last week Indias law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there were numerous reports of the Congress partys connections with controversial data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. He asked Mr Gandhi to explain the companys role in his social media outreach. The opposition party has denied the charges. Cambridge Analytica is embroiled in a storm over claims it exploited the data of millions of Facebook users. The security researcher later posted a new tweet on Sunday saying Mr Modis app had been quietly updated its privacy policy. Mr Modi launched his official app in 2015, adding another platform to his massive social media presence. He is among the five most popular politicians on Twitter with 41.4 million followers.