Neon app offers payment for call recordings sold to AI companies
Neon Mobile, a messaging app that rapidly became popular on Apple's App Store in September 2025, reportedly pays users to allow recording of their phone calls, then sells those recordings to AI companies for training purposes. Legal and cybersecurity experts have raised concerns about potential loopholes in wiretapping laws, voice cloning fraud risks, and lack of transparency about data partners and usage limits.
What happened
Neon Mobile released a messaging and calling application that allows users to earn money by allowing the app to record their calls. According to the app's terms of service, recorded calls can be sold to artificial intelligence companies for the purpose of developing, training, testing and improving machine learning models and related technologies.
The app offers users $0.30 per minute for calls with other Neon users, with a daily maximum of $30, and additional rewards for referring new users. The application rapidly climbed Apple's App Store rankings in September 2025, moving from rank 476 to rank 2 among free social communication apps.
Reported impact
Legal experts expressed concerns about potential loopholes. Jennifer Daniels, privacy and security partner at Blank Rome law firm, noted the app records only one side of calls to avoid wiretapping laws in certain US states. Peter Jackson, cybersecurity and privacy attorney at Greenberg Glusker, warned that one-sided transcript recording could be a disguised method of recording full conversations with the other party's statements later deleted.
Cybersecurity experts warned the audio data could be exploited for fraud using voice cloning techniques. Jackson stated that voice prints could be used to execute fraudulent calls or impersonation schemes, especially since Neon collects user phone numbers and associated information. The app's terms acknowledge "experimental features" may contain technical errors, and the company does not disclose the identities of partners receiving the data or the limits on their use.
Index analysis
The app's rapid popularity demonstrates user willingness to trade privacy for modest financial compensation. The article notes the broad licensing terms grant the company authority to handle user data beyond what is publicly promoted, creating a gap between marketing claims and actual contractual permissions.
Classification
Sources and evidence
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