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In September, neon app He briefly caused a stir in app download schemes by promising to pay users to record and share their phone calls. Then it suddenly went offline amid controversy over its security practices, privacy protections, and payment structure.
After more than a month, a new version has returned to the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. However, the New York-based company does not disclose exactly how much it will pay users for their calls or referrals, outside of a short bonus period. Its founder says the security issues have been resolved, but without providing many details.
Neon sells user call recordings to companies that train AI models, hungry for real-world inputs, such as how people speak during a conversation. The company says it hides call information.
In our own tests, we couldn’t get the new version of Neon to work on iOS. The screen asking to verify the phone number for registration did not initiate a phone call as expected.
Privacy experts CNET spoke to He warned against using the application in its previous version due to concerns about call approval laws, and also noted that artificial intelligence could infer user information or identities even if the call data was anonymous.
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What has changed in the Neon app?
Shortly after Neon climbed the App Store charts, news site TechCrunch appeared Discover a security vulnerability Which allowed people to access incoming calls from other users, including texts and metadata about the calls. After the app went dark, Neon founder Alex Kiam said that the company would address the issue and that the app would return a reward to users.
At that time, those using the app could contact anyone and get paid. According to the company, only the app user side of the call was sold, because in some states, it is not legal to record a conversation without permission.
The new version tries to avoid these status issues with a new app-to-app setup: both ends of the call must have the Neon app installed, essentially making it a subscription service. Only calls from one Neon user to another Neon user are paid, which means that both people participating in the call have registered with the company.
Neon is now offering users a rate of 30 cents per minute up to $30 until 5pm ET on November 6. The normal price the company will pay for call recordings outside that window is unclear; When pressed for details, Kiam would only say that app users will be notified of price changes.
The company also compensates users for referrals to the service, but has not specified a payment amount. Previously, Neon was offering $30 for referrals.
Users post comments on Google Play Store The company gave low ratings, complaining that referral rates were as low as $1 and that call pay rates could be as low as 5 cents per minute. The app currently has a rating of 2.2 stars out of 5 on the Play Store and 2.7 stars out of 5 on the iOS App Store.
Security concerns with neon
When Neon’s connection went down, it was expected that the company would fix the vulnerability that could have allowed someone to access calls from other users.
Kiam told CNET via email that the company “engaged” with three cybersecurity firms after discovering the vulnerability and hired a contractor to conduct a code review to address the security concerns. He said that Neon later appointed this contractor as its head of technology. He did not name the contractor, but said the person was “a former CTO at a reasonably large tech company with 20 years of experience building secure platforms.”
Kiam said Neon addressed the underlying issue found by TechCrunch, and discovered no evidence of “malicious actors” accessing its database. He did not explain how the company dealt with this problem.
He said the delay in bringing Neon back to iOS was unintentional. “I wanted to bring Neon back quickly, but it was important that we do it right.”
Updated Neon Terms of Service
As part of its relaunch, Neon has waived the $30 per day limit on pending payments. Kiam said the company is planning a “pleasant surprise in the future” for those who already use the app.
According to the hadith Terms of Service As of November 3, those who sign up for the app agree that Neon can “sell and offer call recordings” for sale for the purpose of developing, training, testing, and improving machine learning models, AI tools, systems, and related technologies.
There remains troubling language regarding Neon’s rights and licenses that gives the company the authority to publicly display, reproduce, and distribute call recordings “in any media formats and through any media channels.”
The appeal of earning a few extra bucks for a little effort is understandable, especially when so many people are worried about money amid tech industry layoffs, the US government shutdown and the financial crisis. comment From services such as SNAP. However, security concerns, the ethics of turning personal conversations over to AI companies, the lack of clarity around payments and complaints in user reviews should give potential users pause.
In an interview with CNET in early October, Kiam said his company was overwhelmed by Neon’s sudden popularity, but not completely surprised.
“I expected things to grow so quickly because…we’re getting money from people for something they were going to do anyway,” Kiam said. “We felt confident that there was a real demand for something like this.”