Top social media app lets you sell your phone calls to AI companies

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Okay, so there’s this new app, Neon Mobile, and it’s kinda wild. Basically, it records your phone calls, and they *pay you* for the recordings. It’s blown up super fast and is now the second most popular social networking app on the U.S. App Store – seriously, number two! I just heard about it and thought it was a pretty crazy concept.

This app claims you can earn a significant amount of money each year-possibly hundreds or even thousands of dollars-by letting AI companies listen to your recorded conversations. Neon, the app’s creator, says you can earn 30 cents per minute when calling other Neon users, up to $30 a day for other calls, and even more through referral bonuses.

According to data from Appfigures, the app’s ranking soared from 476th place on September 18th to 10th earlier this week, and then climbed to 2nd place by Wednesday. It also briefly reached the top 7 and then 6th spot among all free apps and games.

Neon’s policy allows them to record all phone calls – both incoming and outgoing. However, they typically only store the audio from one side of the conversation unless everyone on the call is using the Neon service. This recorded data is then sold to companies that create and improve artificial intelligence, using it to train and test their AI systems.

Legal and privacy concerns

Legal experts suggest that Neon’s method of recording calls might allow it to bypass wiretap laws. Jennifer Daniels, a partner at the law firm Blank Rome specializing in privacy, security, and data protection, explained to TechCrunch that by only recording one person’s side of the conversation, Neon seems to be trying to avoid the requirement for consent from all parties involved, as is necessary in some states.

Cybersecurity lawyer Peter Jackson from Greenberg Glusker pointed out that the wording regarding “one-sided transcripts” might allow for the collection of more data than intended. Both Daniels and Jackson questioned how well the recordings actually protect people’s privacy, with Jackson specifically cautioning that voice data could be used for fraudulent activities like identity theft or creating fake recordings.

Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT became popular, and similar chatbots from companies like Perplexity and Anthropic’s Claude emerged, AI-powered apps have become incredibly common in the App Store.

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2025-09-25 18:50