In September, the Neon app briefly became a sensation on app download charts by promising to pay users for recording and sharing their phone calls. Then it abruptly went offline amid controversy over its security practices, privacy protections and payment structure.

More than a month later, a new version has returned to the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store. However, the New York-based company isn't disclosing exactly how much it will pay users for their calls or referrals, outside of a brief bonus period. Its founder says the security issues have been resolved, but without offering much detail.

Neon sells the recordings of user calls to companies training AI models, which are hungry for real-world input, such as how people speak conversationally. The company says it anonymiz

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