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A controversial app is making waves on the App Store. Neon, the No. 2 social app on the Apple App Store, pays users to record their phone calls and sells data to AI firms—a business model raising major privacy concerns.

Image Credits:Francesco Carta fotografo/ Getty Images

The app, Neon Mobile, markets itself as a money-making opportunity. By simply talking on the phone, users can earn “hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year,” according to the company. But the catch is that your conversations are being turned into training data for artificial intelligence companies.

How Neon Climbed The App Store Charts

Neon wasn’t always a viral hit. Just days ago, it ranked No. 476 in Apple’s Social Networking category. But in less than a week, it surged into the top 10 and now sits at No. 2 among social apps in the U.S.

App intelligence firm Appfigures confirmed the meteoric rise. Neon even broke into the top 10 overall apps and games, briefly reaching No. 6 across the entire App Store.

How Neon Pays Its Users

Neon pays 30¢ per minute for calls with other Neon users, with a cap of $30 per day. For regular phone calls, users can still earn but at lower rates. The app also offers referral bonuses to encourage growth.

In theory, an active user could rack up a few hundred dollars a month—just for talking on the phone. But what seems like easy money comes with strings attached.

What Happens To Your Recorded Calls

According to Neon’s terms of service, the app can capture both inbound and outbound calls. Neon claims that if you call a non-Neon user, only your side of the conversation is recorded.

But all that audio doesn’t stay private. The data is sold to AI companies to help them “develop, train, test, and improve machine learning models, artificial intelligence tools, and related technologies.”

This means your personal conversations could become part of datasets powering the next generation of AI systems.

Privacy Concerns And Ethical Questions

Critics warn that apps like Neon blur the line between user consent and exploitation. While users opt in, many may not fully understand how their data is used once it’s sold to AI firms.

Privacy experts are raising questions:

• Who ensures sensitive information isn’t misused?

• Can conversations truly be anonymized before being sold?

• What happens if regulators step in?

Neon’s rise highlights a growing trend: apps monetizing user data directly for AI development. For some, it’s an opportunity to profit from everyday habits. For others, it’s a dangerous step toward normalizing surveillance in exchange for cash.

As Neon sits high on the App Store charts, the debate over its business model is just beginning. The app may offer quick money, but it also forces users to weigh the cost of privacy in a world increasingly hungry for AI training data.