US congress has asked several app developers to clarify what information they collect from users and how they use the information.

The move comes after a privacy scare related to the Path social networking app. Reps. Henry A. Waxman of D-California and G. K. Butterfield of D-North Carolina have written letters to 34 app developers seeking information on their user data policy.

According to a new statement on the website for the Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce, the representatives are aiming to better understand what information is gathered by these apps, what do they use the information for and what type of notification is given to the users.

The letter from the congressmen has been sent to iOS app developers offering apps in the Social Networking subcategory of the iPhone Essentials section of the App Store. The letters have been sent to Foursquare, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. A copy has also been sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook for the company's Find My Friends app.

Butterfield pointed that the congressmen wants to know what notification is shown to the users when their data is collected by the app. "We want to know how and what consumers are being told when information is collected from them, and we want to know what they're told about how it will be used," he said.