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The Winter Olympics start in Beijing this Friday. Many countries are officially boycotting the games over claims of human rights abuses in China. Now, allegations are surfacing of athletes being forced to install spyware on their devices. Organisiers require athletes and those visiting Beijing to download the MY2022 Olympics app that tracks travel and health data. The Canadian research forum, CitizienLab, claims the app also contains other hidden surveillance software and other research organisations have found the same. Jonathan Scott, a US-based PhD student and security engineer, says he has found a list built into the app that includes 2,442 key words. When app the 'hears' one of words, it starts recording. He says that the app has been developed by iFlytek - a Chinese firm that was sanctioned in 2019 by the US government when it was found to have created tracking software used for the surveillance of the Uyghur community, and that the app contains similar functionality. The Chinese government and the IOC have denied the claims, and it seems a later version of the app does not include the recording functionality. Photo: A runner talking into a mobile phone Credit: Getty Images