Aplicativos móveis como coletores de dados: um estudo sobre evidências em casos relatados na literatura

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between data collection from mobile devices and surveillance capitalism, with an emphasis on the social, political and technological implications associated with the massive use of personal information extracted by applications. The research adopts a qualitative and critical approach, based on a literature review and document analysis. As part of the development, a conceptual experiment was carried out based on data documented by academic studies that applied reverse engineering and data traffic interception to identify the data extracted by different mobile device applications. From this data, it was demonstrated that it is possible to infer sensitive user characteristics, such as behavior patterns, preferences, and opinions, solely from the digital traces generated by the daily use of devices. The paper also discusses central concepts for understanding this cycle of data collection, processing, and control, such as the transformation of data into capital, the logic of “smart” products as instruments of extraction and surveillance, and algorithmic modulation as a form of influence on the subjectivity of individuals. The results show that continuous data collection, far from being neutral or merely functional, is part of a larger structure of control and exploitation based on continuous surveillance and the extraction of behavioral value, representing significant problems for privacy, autonomy and, above all, democracy.