To read more about the FTC's mobile app privacy guidelines, click here.

On the same day in February that it released its recommendations on mobile app privacy, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with Path, a social networking app. It had charged Path with collecting personal information about children, some of whom were under age 13, without permission of their parents or disclosures regarding how it would use the information, in violation of rules adopted under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

The FTC asserted that Path had engaged in deceptive practices because its privacy policy said it collected only limited information about users' devices. In fact, Path was collecting personal details including addresses, phone numbers, and account names of users and their contacts on Twitter and Facebook, the FTC alleged in its complaint.