Hundreds of mobile games on Google Play and the Apple App Store have software that can listen to your TV viewing habits through your smartphone’s microphone.

According to a New York Times report Thursday, the creator of the software is Alphonso Inc., an analytics startup that helps advertisers track TV viewing data. More than 250 mobile games use Alphonso’s software, but the startup said it’s not out to invade users’ privacy.

According to Alphonso, the disclosure practices for its software comply with all of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines on “Cross-Device Tracking.” Alphonso Chief Executive Ashish Chordia also told the New York Times that any app that uses the startup’s listening software must ask for users’ permission before it can start snooping on their TV shows. “The consumer is opting in knowingly and can opt out any time,” Chordia said.

Alphonso also assured users that its platform does not record human speech or any other personally identifiable information. The startup’s automated content recognition system converts audio into a digital fingerprint, which it compares to a massive cloud index of TV program audio. If it finds a match, Alphonso’s platform creates a new record that only tracks a user’s anonymized numeric device ID. Alphonso said users can reset their device ID at any time.

Despite Alphonso’s reassurances, the startup’s listening software is sure to raise a few privacy concerns, particularly for mobile apps that are targeted toward children. Chordia told the Times that Alphonso does not approve of companies using its platform on apps meant for children. However, several of the games on Google Play that use Alphonso’s software are clearly aimed at younger players.

In addition to mobile games, Alphonso said, its software can also be found in messaging apps, social media apps and more. In a video on Alphonso’s website, Chordia claims that the startup’s cloud platform collects second-by-second TV viewership data “from more devices in more households than any other company that measures TV advertising.”

Photo: Screenshot/Google Play Store