In a brief , Path said that a newly released 2.1.1 version of its software automatically hashes all user contact information in order to protect the privacy of the data.

All phone numbers, email addresses, Twitter handles and Facebook IDs that Path collects in order to connect users with their contacts, will in future be hashed the statement said.

"We hope our actions set a new standard in this field as we strive to serve you, our users, first," the note added.

Path's move comes a few weeks after the company found itself in the middle of a major privacy row after a Singapore-based programmer published a describing how Path's journaling application for iOS and Android-powered phones, used by over 2 million users, was secretly collecting user address book data.

The Feb. 8 disclosure drew widespread attention to the data collection practices of mobile application vendors in general, and the processes that platform vendors such as Apple and Google use for vetting those vendors.