Apple: Apps need 'explicit approval' before collecting user contacts

Apple on Wednesday said it will start requiring mobile apps to get explicit permission from iPhone and iPad owners before the apps collect and store information about users' personal contacts.

The statement came after a week of revelations that popular social tools like Twitter and Path were doing just that -- sometimes without the user even knowing it.

"Apps that collect or transmit a user's contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said in a written statement to CNN and other media outlets.

"We're working to make this even better for our customers, and as we have done with location services, any app wishing to access contact data will require explicit user approval in a future software release."

CNN has the details HERE!