Call-recording app Neon taken offline for exposing user personal data

Neon, the viral app that pays users to record their phone calls and sells the audio data to artificial intelligence (AI) companies, has been taken offline following the discovery of a major security flaw. The app, which has rapidly risen to the top five free iPhone apps, exposed the phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts of all users to any other logged-in user.

TechCrunch discovered the security oversight and alerted the app's founder, Alex Kiam, who subsequently took down the servers. Kiam then emailed customers, claiming the temporary shutdown was to "add extra layers of security" during a period of rapid growth, but failed to mention the critical data exposure. It remains unclear when the app will relaunch or whether Apple and Google will take action, as the app's compliance with developer guidelines is now in question.