By Jessica Campsi | The Hill
The University of Alabama is sparking concerns about data privacy after creating an app that tracks students’ locations to keep them from leaving football games early.
After attendance at Crimson Tide games sunk to a 22-year low last season, coach Nick Saban became frustrated about the lack of student presence for what has long been a top-performing program, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
As a result, the university created the Tide Loyalty Points app, which, starting this season, rewards students who attend games — and stay until the fourth quarter — by making it easier to get tickets to coveted match-ups, possibly including the Southeastern Conference championship, playoff semifinals or even the national championship, according to the Times.
When students install the app on their phones, it uses location-tracking technology to see who attends — and stays — at a Tide game.
