WASHINGTON – The government is investigating whether software companies that make cellphone apps violated the privacy rights of children by quietly collecting personal information from mobile devices and sharing it with advertisers and data brokers, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday. Such apps can capture a child’s physical location, phone numbers of their friends and more.

The FTC described the marketplace for mobile applications – dominated by online stores operated by Apple and Google – as a digital danger zone with inadequate oversight. In a report by the FTC’s own experts, it said the industry has grown rapidly but failed to ensure the privacy of young consumers is adequately protected.

The FTC did not say which or how many companies it was investigating.