Apps aren't an exception, you'll find it in almost all of them. When you install the app it should notify you what is does or doesn't have access to, so things like your phone book and call history are not accessible for the app.
Similarly, I am rather positive that none of the applications on my phone phone home, since that would trigger a ‘Do you want to allow this while roaming?’ question each and every time.
Edit: Correction: Steam probably does that. I use it once in a blue moon or so. :)
Developers use the information to make the product better. They use crash reports to fix bugs without you having to report them and they can determine what operating system and screen resolution you're using so the next time you open up the app, it's been optimised so those ugly black borders have been taken care of.
Granted, they could ask your permission to do this, as some applications do. However, are you really going to spend time integrating an extra layer of complexity between your game, when you're on a limited development budget and the priority should be on making the game more fun?
I believe having this stated in the privacy policy, together with the privacy rules agreed to at installation is more than adequate enough for this level of application, anything more would be overkill on the developers part.
Most people don't really know or understand what facebook is doing. That is why it's unethical to hide under privacy policies that state how non-private everything is under the guise of "your privacy is our highest concern".
Personally I agree with you. Modern OS's actually police and inform users of just how overzealous these programs are, and give you an opportunity to reject the terms the program sets.
Programs in response, refuse to work if they can't get access to your data, even though that data has nothing to do with the service they provide.
All of this is wonderful.
[ ] - Send anonymous usage statistics?
2) User action required to acknowledge they know and consent to it.
3) Can be disabled by anyone concerned with privacy issues.
If you fail at any of (1), (2) or (3), you're being a douche, and writing spyware, even if you bury some ridiculous disclaimer somewhere in your EULA.
Given the popularity of mobile and browser sandboxes, it seems increasingly likely that we're going to end up with a sandbox model and opt-in permissions for all apps, at least on consumer OSes. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I suppose there are pros and cons.
I know and you know this kind of tracking is industry standard because we are in this industry.
Most people outside this industry don't know that, and are pretty shocked when they see. Seriously, if you have access to a Google Analytics account with a reasonable amount of data start showing people how much stuff you are tracking and see what their reaction is.
Telling OP their "phone home" concerns aren't valid because that's "standard practice" is a terrible argument.