Jan 29 (Reuters) - Amazon.com ( AMZN ) was sued on

Wednesday by consumers who accused the retailing giant of

secretly tracking their movements through their cellphones, and

selling data it collects.

According to a proposed class action in San Francisco

federal court, Amazon ( AMZN ) obtained "backdoor access" to consumers'

phones by providing tens of thousands of app developers with

code known as Amazon Ads SDK to be embedded in their apps.

This allegedly enabled Amazon ( AMZN ) to collect an enormous amount

of timestamped geolocation data about where consumers live,

work, shop and visit, revealing sensitive information such as

religious affiliations, sexual orientations and health concerns.

"Amazon ( AMZN ) has effectively fingerprinted consumers and has

correlated a vast amount of personal information about them

entirely without consumers' knowledge and consent," the

complaint said.

The complaint was filed by Felix Kolotinsky of San Mateo,

California, who said Amazon ( AMZN ) collected his personal information

through the "Speedtest by Ookla" app on his phone.

He said Amazon's ( AMZN ) conduct violated California's penal law and

a state law against unauthorized computer access, and seeks

unspecified damages for millions of Californians.

Amazon ( AMZN ), based in Seattle, did not immediately respond to

requests for comment. Lawyers for the plaintiff did not

immediately respond to requests for additional comment.

Individuals and regulators are increasingly complaining that

companies are trying to profit from information gathered without

consent from cellphones.

On Jan. 13, the state of Texas sued Allstate ( ALL ) for

allegedly tracking drivers through cellphones, using the data to

raise premiums or deny coverage, and selling the data to other

insurers.

Allstate ( ALL ) said its data collection fully complies with all

laws and regulations. At least eight similar private lawsuits

against Allstate ( ALL ) have been subsequently filed.

The case is Kolotinsky v Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN ) et al, U.S. District

Court, Northern District of California, No. 25-00931.