The company has ties to the Russian government. The tracking is standard, the developer says.
Ivanka Trump’s fashion-and-lifestyle website is promoting an app, developed by a Russian company, that can track people’s location even when it is not running. The app, called SkyGuru, was featured in the latest edition of “Weekly Clicks,” a roundup of recipes, fashion tips and fitness trends that “#TeamIvanka clicked, read and loved.”
SkyGuru says it can calm anxious flyers by alerting them to turbulence and tracking their flights through the air. But the small print on the app’s download page reveals another feature: it continues to monitor users’ whereabouts after their flights land, regardless of whether they close the app.
SkyGuru says this feature is no different than other GPS-related apps, like Google Maps or Uber, and that users can switch off the function.
SkyGuru was developed by Taktik Labs, a team of coders and marketers in Russia that includes a man with ties to a state-run investment firm. Amidst questions regarding President Donald Trump’s relationship with Moscow, the coincidence of electronic surveillance and the Russian government brought Trump and SkyGuru a sharp rebuke on social media.
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Thanks, @IvankaTrump and @realDonaldTrump. Together we will make America Fly Again! God bless America! pic.twitter.com/MfxsZmYIJt
— SKYGURU (@skyguru_app) January 23, 2017
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@tynanwrites @LouiseMensch Ivanka Trump Promotes A Russian App That Quietly Tracks Your Location https://t.co/FxRPYLurDz via @buzzfeedbiz
— iBob ™️ ©️ (@iBobRitchie) March 16, 2017
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