Phone spam spins out of control
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Many smartphone users are deleting instant messenger apps because of an increase in spam in recent months, a report says.
With KakaoTalk expanding its influence through Kakao Music and various games linked to the messenger, a rise in advertisements has prompted many to delete the application to avoid possible invasion of privacy, Money Today reports.
"I deleted my app because I checked it habitually and because I'm sick and tired of game invitations day and night," a former Kakao user identified as Yoo was quoted as saying.
She said she felt better after deleting the application because constant messenger alarms from clothing stores, cosmetic companies and restaurants no longer bothered her.
"Since mobile carriers made endless messaging available, there has been a rapid increase in spam sent to smartphones rather than computers," said Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA) spam action team leader Choo Hyun-woo. "If there are 200-300 reports of messages from one number, we quickly block the number or investigate."
According to KISA data, anti-spam systems failed to filter more than 980,000 texts and pictures since 2010.
There were 70 million reports in 2010, 32 million in 2012 and 21 million last year.
Kakao Talk limits invitations to 20 game invites a day or one message per month, which has helped reduce unwanted messages sent to the app.
"Hearing those unnecessary alarms was stressful,” said a user identified as Choi, "Now I feel relaxed after deleting my messenger app. When I really need to use the app, I download it, use it and delete it. I don’t normally need it.”