Moscow, September 23 (RHC-teleSUR)--U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has criticized a new messaging application by Google, saying it is a breach of privacy and will track everything that users will say.
The technology giant launched its new “smart chat” application Allo on Wednesday, promising more intelligent text conversation features, including auto-reply options.
Snowden, a former NSA employee who is now living in exile in Russia, said via Twitter that Google’s application will “record every message you ever send and make it available to police upon request,” adding that Allo was “dangerous”. He nicknaming the application “Google Surveillance.”
Snowden stressed that 100 percent of close to 1,500 surveillance requests were granted by the U.S. foreign intelligence court and that user data stored in Allo could easily be obtained too.
The application is intended to improve usability over time to make messaging quicker, including smart replies and assistance for quickly finding information in long message lists. However, there has been controversy over how the application stores the data and protects privacy.
Allo’s “incognito mode” was originally announced by Google to have encryption technology to secure privacy, but now it seems that all messages will be stored in the application. Snowden said that Allo was less safe for users than rival messaging applications WhatsApp and Signal.
Edward Snowden Warns New Google App Will Aid 'Big Brother'
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