Lawsuit Claims Warriors Mobile App Eavesdrops On Fans Even When Not In Use

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- The mobile app offered by the Golden State Warriors for their fans is eavesdropping on them, secretly enabling the users' microphone to record conversations and track their location, according to a lawsuit.

The proposed class-action suit was filed in San Francisco federal court on Monday.

It claims the Warriors' app uses beacon technology, in which audio signals from beacons at Oracle Arena are picked up by smartphones to determine a user's precise location in order to serve targeted ads.

In addition, the lawsuit also claims users' private conversations are recorded and analyzed, and that the microphone eavesdrops on users even when the app is not in use.

The suit acknowledges the app asks users for permission to access the microphone on their cellphone, but doesn't disclose the extent of how it's used.

The claims only apply to the app from the Google Play Store, as the iPhone app uses a different protocol for obtaining user permissions.

The Warriors, Pittsburgh-based Yinzcam which made the app, and New York-based Signal360 which makes the beacon technology were all named in the suit.

Signal360 Chief Operating Officer Lauren Cooley denied the allegations in an email to the San Jose Mercury News, saying: "We have been made aware of the suit and it appears there is a misunderstanding about how our technology works. Our technology does not intercept, store, transmit, or otherwise use any oral content for marketing purposes or for any other purpose."

The Warriors told CBS San Francisco that its policy is not to comment on pending litigation.

Yinzcam did not immediately return a request for a comment.