In a story first broken by Insider, news of a malevolent function on a Saudi Arabian government app has been criticized over the past few weeks, culminating in members of the US senate pleading with Google and Apple to investigate [1]. The app, Absher has been available for download on iOS since 2015 and on Android since 2016. It is government-run, providing multiple functions to its users such as renewing documents (drivers licences, passports), paying parking tickets, or registering newborn babies.
Absher’s platform login screen. (iPhone photo courtesy of CC BY-SA 3.0. Absher app screenshot courtesy of Absher App on Android store. Photo edit courtesy of Defne Inceoglu).
The app’s more sinister function is the ability for a user or “guardian” to register their dependents, such as wives and children. Importantly, the guardian is able to see whether or not a dependent is inside or outside the borders of Saudi Arabia. By registering dependents into the system, the app serves as a database and gatekeeper that records and potentially restricts the location of women in the country. The user adds passport numbers and manages permissions; for instance, they can grant multiple journeys to their dependent or none at all. If this permission is broken, the app will alert the user, allocating them time to intercept their dependent if possible. This news comes in the wake of stories detailing the plight of Saudi Arabian women, most notably the Saudi teen who had recently landed in Toronto after escaping from her allegedly abusive family.
Husbands granting permission for their wives to fly is nothing new; in Saudi Arabia it used to be a permission slip. Like many things, the app has digitized a previously paper-based practice. By shifting these services to an online platform, the government has essentially amassed a way in which to easily monitor and track women’s movements inside and outside of Saudi Arabia. This criticism can be seen hand in hand with the criticisms raised in the past by humanitarian groups like Amnesty International’s reporting on Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations and violence against women [2].
In the wake of this, earlier in February both Google and Apple have said they would launch investigations into the application. As of February 28th, neither company has made any official comment.
As a backlash, many Saudi men have come forward defending the app; claiming it has eased the previously difficult act of registering for documents in person. Read an article from Arab News here, in praise of the app [3]. The polarized opinion on the app’s usefulness is not understated, however it does not justify the app’s darker function in the ongoing negative conditions for women living in Saudia Arabia.
Digital Tattoo will stay tuned to this developing story as it unfolds. In the meantime, read these articles for additional information: Insider, TIME.
edited by: Jason Cheung
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