Abbott App Lets Users See Contacts’ Party Ties, Earn Prizes

Ever wonder which political groups your phone contacts are affiliated with? How about if they voted early in the November election?

Well, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Republican reelection campaign wants to know, while also giving you points to earn rewards like a campaign-branded Yeti cup or cooler, a Dyson Airwrap, or even a VIP invite to an event at the Texas Governor’s Mansion.

On Aug. 10, Abbott’s campaign promoted its app called “Abbott Impact,” where users can complete actions like sending messages to remind them to vote, knocking on doors and making phone calls to earn points for rewards in an effort to “Help Keep Texas RED,” as the home page of the app says.

What the App Shows About Your Contacts

However, the app also lets users see which political party their contacts are affiliated with and their voting history.

“Abbott Impact matches your contact list to the Texas voter file and allows you to message friends directly from the app,” according to the app’s description. “During early voting, track in real time which of your contacts have voted and which haven’t. Send quick reminders to those who haven’t voted directly from the app and check back in daily to see who voted!”

Abbott is currently running for reelection and is set to face Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa in November, with recent polling showing Abbott leading Hinojosa by 1 percentage point — 46% to 45%.

The app, available for iOS and Android, also allows users to access their voter file directly. USA TODAY investigated the app and found that it created voter profiles from linked phone contacts.

The app gives users statistics on how many contacts it was able to link to Texas voter profiles, categorizing contacts as:

• Republicans
• Democrats
• Swing — a person who has voted in the past but not in a Republican- or Democratic-affiliated race, such as a primary.

The app also tells you how many of your Republican contacts did not vote in the 2022 midterms, as well as your contact voter turnout from previous general and primary elections.

What Information Does the App Collect?

When you dive deeper into a contact’s voter profile, the app lists their affiliated political party, full legal name and birth month and year. It shows whether they voted in previous primary and general elections, dating back to the 2016 Texas primary elections — all information available to the public.

However, it does not show which candidate a contact voted for. Users can also add notes about certain contacts to help Abbott’s campaign.

The app’s privacy policy states that it collects:

• User’s name, email address, residential address and phone number
• Contact information — phone numbers from the device’s contact list, for voter matching
• Device information
• App usage data, including how the user interacts with the service, features used and time spent
• Log information, such as IP address, browser type, access times and pages viewed
• Location data — general location information for voter file matching, with consent

The policy says the collected data is used for service provision, voter-file matching, communications, account management, analytics and legal compliance.

The privacy policy also states that it “does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for commercial purposes.”

How Users Earn Points

Users can earn 10 points each time they complete these tasks:

• Turn Out Friends — send reminders to vote to your contacts.
• Message Neighbors — send messages through the app to neighbors near you, as identified by your location.
• Knock on Doors — the app shows you targeted houses nearby to knock on.
• Make Phone Calls — call voters in your area through the app.

Rewards Available Through the App

As of Aug. 12, users have the following eight rewards available to redeem their points for:

• 10,000 points — a “Unity Drives Victory” branded Yeti 32-ounce Rambler
• 15,000 points — a “Unity Drives Victory” branded Patagonia jacket
• 15,000 points — a VIP invitation for two to the 2026 Texans for Greg Abbott election-night watch party
• 15,000 points — a VIP invitation for two to an event at the Texas Governor’s Mansion
• 25,000 points — a whole brisket that feeds up to 10 people, delivered
• 30,000 points — a “Unity Drives Victory” branded Yeti Tundra cooler
• 35,000 points — a Traeger Pro Series 34 Pellet Grill
• 40,000 points — a Dyson Airwrap i.d. multi-styler and dryer

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abbott app lets users see contacts’ party ties, earn prizes. Reporting by Mateo Rosiles, USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.