[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] BillTheCat:
Question: What happens when the T&C or Privacy Policy of an app we paid for changes in a way we're not content with?

Though this question relates to Endomondo, though I suppose it could apply to any app in the Play store that has been updated or undergone a Privacy Policy change during the course of use. I believe this issue is a larger one of how to protect ourselves in an ever increasingly dangerous world of data hacking and marketing abuse.

Here's a topline of the particulars, but again, it could apply to any app we use, on any platform for that matter.

Back in 2011, I purchased Endomondo Pro.

During a relatively recent OTA app update, they removed a feature I specifically bought the app for (the step counter) presumably in preparation for what happened next.

In the past year (give-or-take), the company (read: Endomondo app) was acquired by UnderArmor

The aforementioned update forced us to a different version of the program, so we either had to go along with the update, or be unable to use the app. Naturally, having paid for the program, I accepted the update.

Some time in the month of March(?) they updated their Privacy Policy in such a way that I am no longer comfortable using the program.

In any other world, what has happened here could be considered 'bait-and-switch' at best, racketeering and coercion at worst in that we were forcibly required to accept the update or lose use of the program we paid for.

Though they claim there has been no change in their Privacy Policy, I disagree, though I don't happen to have a copy of their old policy when it was managed by Endomondo. Thus, I have not been able to use the program because of my discomfort with what I believe to be a dramatic change in the language of the Privacy Policy.

Specifically, the change is way too intrusive for me, especially with our government being too much involved in our health care system, and the ever-increasing risk of hacks that have breached even the most secure systems.

DISCLAIMER: To their credit, Endomondo (and their new owners, UnderArmor) have honored the privacy settings. I have not received one shred of unsolicited advertisement. However, who knows what they may be cooking up in the back room without our knowledge, and who knows how that might change at any point going forward.

Here's how the mealy-mouthed lawyers spin this up:

Translated: they can do whatever they want, any time they want, to whomever they want, for whatever reasons they want... all they need to do in order to disclose your most personal information is to say it's for "research" or "business operations". And, to complicate matters further, they say:

Translated: Not only can we do whatever we want, but we don't even have to tell you.

It seems to me this is a violation not only of trust, but bordering on illegal, by coercing us into allowing the update and then unilaterally changing the privacy policy in such a way as to leave us no alternative to using what we paid for, no opt-out, and no other options. I don't need to have my workout data stored on their servers, I'd gladly keep it on my local device. Frankly, this whole 'cloud' thing is both overrated and worrisome at best.

Ironically enough, as a marketing professional, I completely understand and endorse the idea that (when used honestly and properly) data such as this is as good for customers as it is for the company using it. However, when things go bad (and not a month goes by when it doesn't), we who are the victims of data theft have no recourse.

I'm of the opinion that there ought to be legislation passed to hold companies accountable should they collect data that later becomes the subject of a breach. Though I'm probably the last person to want our government once again involved in our lives, there ought to be a way to provide consumers with recourse to hold a company accountable in the event of a breach should they collect our data that becomes compromised. As it sits now, when something goes bad, companies shrug their shoulders and say "sorry", and we're left cancelling credit cards, chasing our tails to fix it, and in extreme cases, rebuilding our lives in the aftermath of identity fraud.

So, I'd like to hear your thoughts on what we, as users, customers and consumers of technology products, might do to protect ourselves and assert our rights to what we paid for in the first place. To whom would one go in order to file a complaint? Should we look to Google? Perhaps the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)?

Just curious to hear your thoughts.