Smartphone Bus Ticketing: Here's Why It's a Smart Choice for You
The BWeit public transit app, designed for purchasing tickets in Baden-Württemberg, including the Pforzheim transport association, has sparked privacy concerns among users and privacy advocates.
One of the main issues is the app's request for access to sensitive permissions, such as "Physical Activities" data. This type of permission typically relates to tracking users’ movement patterns, exercise, or step counts, which can reveal detailed personal lifestyle information beyond what is necessary for transit use.
The BWeit app, after registration, requires additional permissions, including access to data of "Physical Activities". This is necessary for the app to determine when a user gets out of a vehicle and assumes the trip is over. However, unlike location data, the user cannot restrict access to "Physical Activity" data to only be used by an active app.
The app also requires access to the user's address book for location selection, potentially allowing access to the entire contact list. The app creates an "anonymized usage statistic" by default, which is not clearly documented or easily opt-out.
The SSB has announced that it will include the issue of contact permissions in its FAQ and make the opt-out of usage statistics more visible.
The "CiCoBW" system integrated into the BWeit app allows for purchasing tickets when boarding a vehicle and calculates the cost based on distance traveled. This system is designed for occasional guests and is integrated into the BWeit app by the Stuttgart Public Transport and Tariff Association (VVS).
The app collects device information (operating system version, model, app version) along with the IP address in the "anonymous usage statistics". Other smartphone ticket solutions either do without automatic movement recognition or offer it optionally, allowing the user to end their trip manually and thus more data-efficiently.
These concerns align with common privacy issues surrounding mobility and transit apps that integrate sensor and activity data for optimizing user experience but may lack transparent data governance or explicit user control over sensitive data. Users and privacy advocates recommend scrutiny of such permissions to ensure compliance with relevant data protection laws, such as the EU's GDPR, which mandate explicit and informed consent for processing sensitive personal data.
No explicit official statements or detailed responses from Baden-Württemberg authorities about mitigating these privacy concerns have been found. However, the general privacy discourse about transit apps in Germany consistently calls for limited data collection restricted strictly to what is necessary and transparent privacy policies.
If you want, I can help look further for updates or official privacy statements specifically about BWeit. The available documents did not contain direct references to BWeit’s privacy issues in detail. The app also requests permission for background execution to track ongoing trips live, which consumes valuable battery power.
- Despite the privacy controversies surrounding the BWeit app, the integration of the CiCoBW system allows for the purchase of tickets on public transportation in Baden-Württemberg, including Pforzheim.
- Users and privacy advocates are urging for increased transparency regarding the collection and use of data, such as physical activities, location, and even contact lists, in smart home devices, gadgets, and other tech products like the BWeit app.
- As concerns grow over data privacy and the possible lack of transparent data governance in home-and-garden devices and technology like the BWeit app, users are recommended to take a closer look at the permissions requested and ensure compliance with data protection laws like the EU's GDPR.
