The World Cup Qatar 2022 will be launched, and it is a destination known for the enormous wealth that it possesses, as well as the strictness of its various rules, prohibitions and obligations.
Speaking of commitments, the Norwegian Audiovisual Foundation (NRK) reported on the two apps that everyone attending the event will be forced to download and, other than the purpose for which they were created, they are concerned about the significant risks they pose to users' privacy.
Why is everyone afraid of them?
First of all there is Ehteraz, an application that allows monitoring of COVID-19 cases in the style of extinction radar, but with a Qatari version, and on the other hand there is Hayya, the official application of the competition that facilitates track tickets to matches as well as access to the free metro in Qatar.
In theory, it could be said that they are just two apps created by the government and what they seek is to maintain order, but things get in doubt when we see the alarming number of permissions they require from the mobile to work.
In the case of Ehteraz, this is the one that turns out to be the most intrusive into the phone, asking for access to read, modify or delete all the phone's content, preventing it from staying inactive,managing other apps as well as mobile wireless connections and Bluetooth, which is a complete hack of your device.
Although Hayya turns out to be somewhat less demanding of permissions, it is also of concern that he can access the exact location of a mobile phone, prevent it from going inactive, control her network connections, and as if that weren't enough. It also asks for permission to share user information practically without restrictions.
“When you download these two apps, you agree to the terms of the contract, and those terms are very generous. Basically, you hand all the information on your phone. You give the people who control the apps the ability to read, change, and modify things. They also have a chance to retrieve information from other apps. If they have the ability to do so, and we believe they do. It is not my duty to give travel advice, but I personally would not bring my mobile phone on a visit to Qatar.”
Without a doubt, it turns out to be a rather sensitive issue that seems to be whatever the pressure exerted by the media and the international public, not much will change if we take into account the positions taken by the Qatari government and, in general, the hard-line stance towards which the countries of the Arab world tend.
