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Viral Call-Recording App Neon Goes Offline After Security Flaw Exposes Users’ Data

The founder took the servers offline following a report that other users could access phone numbers, recordings and transcripts.

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© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
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Using smartphone on holographic background

Overview

  • TechCrunch’s testing found backend endpoints that revealed call transcripts, public links to raw audio files, and metadata including both parties’ phone numbers, timestamps, durations and earnings.
  • Neon emailed users about a temporary shutdown for “extra layers of security,” but the notice did not disclose the exposure; a security audit is underway, with the CEO telling Business Insider it could take one to two weeks.
  • The app pays 15¢ per minute for calls to non-users and 30¢ per minute for calls with another Neon user, capped at $30 per day, and says recordings are anonymized and sold to AI firms under broad licensing terms.
  • Neon surged from No. 476 to No. 2 in Apple’s U.S. App Store Social Networking chart, with Appfigures estimating 75,000 downloads in a single day and more than 80,000 overall by midweek.
  • Apple, Google and listed investors have not publicly commented; there is no public evidence of mass data theft, the app remains listed but nonfunctional, and experts warn of consent, anonymization and fraud risks.