Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
T-Mobile may be spying on your phone, but it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Earlier this week, T-Mobile users started noticing an ominously titled feature called “screen recording tool” appear in their T-Life app on both Android and Apple devices.
On by default
The company hadn’t announced anything, and the feature was on by default. Naturally, some customers freaked out about this apparent invasion of privacy (perhaps rightfully so, given the company’s data breach history) and wondered what the app was watching.
Also: How to screen record on your iPhone – it’s easy
The first instinct for many people was that this was some sort of customer service feature that lets a company representative see a customer’s screen, but the feature’s description dispelled that notion: “We use a tool to record how customers use the app to analyze and improve your experience” it read. “Only T-Mobile will review and analyze your info.”
What was this feature for, then?
It turns out it’s not quite that big of a deal.
Also: Here’s how to get a free iPhone 16 Pro from T-Mobile with no trade-in required
In a statement to several media outlets, the company explained that the feature was designed to help troubleshoot or detect issues solely within the T-Life app. It went on to say that the tool only has access to the T-Life app, doesn’t access any personal information or information on the device, and can be disabled at any time.
It’s just a way for T-Mobile to track and fix issues with the T-Life app — nothing related to customer accounts or the device itself.
Also: T-Mobile is giving loyal users a free line right now – how to see if you qualify
Still, it’s a little unnerving that a company introduced a screen recording tool without telling customers, and had it on by default. Unless you spend time digging around the settings of your mobile company’s app, you’d have no idea this was going on. Announcing this feature and letting you opt in would have made this much more palatable.
How to disable it
To disable it, open the T-Life app, go to Settings, then Preferences, and toggle off the screen recording tool.
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