Skype plugs Android app privacy hole

Less than a week afterwards confirming that a flaw in Skype for Android could leak sensitive user information, the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) firm issued an urgent update to fix the problem.

Period of developing

Skype informed clients that "Afterwards a period of developing and testing we have released a new version of the Skype for Android application onto the Android Market, containing a fix to the vulnerability reported to us. Please update to this version [1.0.0.983] on short notice in order to help protect your information."

Skype says it has had no reported examples of third-party apps misusing information from the Skype directory on Android devices, although is keeping an eye on things. The flaw left exposed a user's name, email address, contacts and chat logs.

The Android Police blog

The Android Police blog, which originally revealed the Skype flaw, says the fix works: "Skype has changed the permissions of the databases in question." But, it warned that the update will not "remedy the vulnerability on the leaked video version of the app, so continued use is at your own risk."