Security experts said the US privacy concerns should be applicable worldwide, because app markets are global.

See also:

» The 10 Most Expensive iPhone Apps

They added that these are very recent issues, as apps became popular only after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. The problem could get worse, given the rising proliferation of smartphones here.

Recent reports say that Singapore has a smartphone penetration rate of 40 per cent, one of the highest in the world.

Mr Rob Forsyth, managing director of Sophos in the Asia-Pacific, said cybercriminals can harness the information from apps.

“The danger is that the aggregated user data at, for example, a game vendor’s location, can be released inadvertently,” he said.