Can My Software Be Classified as Spyware If I Use the Usage Intelligence SDK?
Can My Software Be Classified as Spyware If I Use the Usage Intelligence SDK?
Spyware is unsolicited software which aims to obtain private information from a user's computer without their knowledge and where such information may be sent to third parties without the user’s consent. Spyware is usually installed secretly on a system and spyware vendors go to great lengths to prevent the software from being detected or uninstalled.
Usage Intelligence on the other hand does not collect any private data from users’ machines and the data collected and provided by Usage Intelligence is intended to be used solely by vendors of legitimate software. All the information collected by the Usage Intelligence SDK is completely anonymous and none of the data collected can be used to identify individual users.
The Usage Intelligence SDK runs in the same process space of the software in which it is embedded, so the usage information gathered by the SDK is limited to the activities of the software in which it is embedded (i.e. it does not track any other user activity on their machines). This information helps vendors keep track of their software usage to provide a better service to their customers without breaching on user privacy.
Privacy laws in the jurisdiction(s) where you operate may require you to inform your customers about the data you’re collecting as well as having a Privacy Policy in place. You can read more in this blog post: Staying compliant with privacy laws.
Flexera employs a very strict and intolerant policy when it comes to malware. Every vendor who signs up to use our service is required to agree to the following:
The Usage Intelligence SDK shall not be implemented in any form of adware, spyware, or malware software.
Vendors must inform their users about any custom information they are collecting.
Vendors must have a Privacy Policy in place that defines the obligations and responsibilities to their customers.
Should Revenera receive reports that identify that a vendor has breached this agreement, we reserve the right to immediately terminate their account in order to protect the legitimacy of our service and our customer base.
