Bejeweled 2, Angry Birds for iPhone violate your privacy, WSJ reports

Zynga and LOLapps may not be the only ones after your personal information for an extra buck. In a report published by the Wall Street Journal today, complete with flashy infographic breaking it down for reader, reporters found that games like Bejeweled 2 and Angry Birds for the iPhone and Android phones may be sending your private data such as contacts, your phone's unique ID number and even your phone number to third party marketing and advertising firms.

The report encompassed 101 of the most popular apps and games on both platforms and, more specifically, found that Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, knows your phone's unique ID number, contacts and location thanks to you playing the game. Worse off, WSJ suspects that the company is sending that information to third parties. In a reaction statement made today by the developer, Rovio denied all allegations that it is sending this information to anyone other than Crystal, the social network that supports its games, and uses Flurry, an analytical software.

"Crystal does not store any personal information, as insinuated by the WSJ article, nor does it utilize any data without the user's explicit knowledge," a Rovio spokesperson told gaming news site Develop. "Flurry collects analytical data to display numerical data such as numbers of users per different countries based on Phone ID and general location. This information is only displayed as aggregate statistics - Flurry never stores or displays any data pertaining to an individual."

As for Bejeweled 2, WSJ found in its research that PopCap, the game's developer and publisher, knows your user names, passwords and phone number. And yes, it too is sending that information to third parties, according to the Journal report. PopCap has yet to make a statement confirming or denying the claims made by WSJ.

And don't think these are the only games and apps that could be making some coin off your private information. The chart and infographic go on to mention that Doodle Jump, Ninjump, Paper Toss, Foursquare and even Tweet Deck are having their way with a least a sliver of your personal data. While the report does point a few fingers, its true purpose is to raise awareness to the fact that our personal data may not be safe even on our smartphones.

The report ends with a poll asking whether readers feel that games and apps should notify them of when they're accessing their information. A whopping 66 percent seem to feel that it should be done every time. And if the Journal's findings turn out to be true, well, I'd have to agree.

A Peggle sake set? PopCap's auctioning it off (and more) for charity

PopCap Games is embarking on another major charity endeavor this month. Beginning today and lasting until July 12th, all proceeds from their official eBay listing will go to benefit the Starlight Children's Foundation in America and SpecialEffect in the United Kingdom.

PopCap Peggle sake setPopCap Games / eBay
Thirty-four pieces of artwork are expected to be put on sale (currently, 9 are available) and they all feature PopCap's various games from Plants vs. Zombies to Zuma Blitz to Peggle, which gets its own ceramic sake set! There's no Bejeweled Blitz goods in sight though, but we're sure one will appear in the coming weeks. Go to www.ebay.com/popcap to visit the auction.

PopCap's past fundraising efforts included raising $100K to help Susan G. Komen for the Cure fight breast cancer on Mother's Day in 2008, $85K for Haiti relief in 2010, and most recently, $200K going to the International Red Cross for Japan back in March.

PopCap fulfills one 10-year-old's awesome wish with Allied Star Police

This is the double whammy: both touching and badass at the same time. (How does PopCap do it?) The company's--recently acquired by EA--indie mobile games studio 4th & Battery has teamed up with 10-year-old Owain Weinert to create Allied Star Police for iOS devices. This 100 percent free reverse tower defense game was made to fulfill Weinerts wish submitted to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. And, get this, the game is a blast.

Players create increasingly powerful units using constantly-generated cash to fend off the evil Flamoid alien race from planets in the galaxy. Vehicles range from blue ATVs with mounted machine guns to massive orange tanks that fire off massive rounds into your enemies' alien faces. The best route to victory is to always keep your four lanes of units evenly stocked up so as to not let any of the purple buggers in.

Once you reach the giant purple alien base, it's time to spend, spend spend. Keep up the spending and watch the missiles and explosions fly. This addictive, simple hook will last for three levels, though each one becomes increasingly difficult. In fact, this game is pretty darn challenging. And the fact that a 10-year-old going through as much as Weinert is made this game makes it that much more remarkable:
Allied Star Police

    PopCap met Owain in April when Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Alaska & Washington told us about his wish to make a video game. Owain (which means "little warrior" in Welsh) was diagnosed with pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia last year and has gone through lots of difficult treatments. But his dad said that what he really wanted was to hang out with "real game designers". So we volunteered to help Owain make his video game during PopCamp.

This is just a glimpse at the story of how Owain made one darn impressive PopCap mobile game. Regardless of his troubles, this is extremely impressive design work, and he should be proud to call himself a game designer. (I know I couldn't even draw that well at 10, so you're light years ahead of most of us, kid.)

Allied Star Police

Click here to download Allied Star Police for iOS devices >

Have you tried Allied Star Police yet? What do you think of the games created so far at 4th & Battery? Which are your favorites?