The threat of suing very much loomed in the background if they did not cooperate. Hegarty is just more slick, buttering them up with (well deserved) praises and attention from grownups to get voluntary cooperation.
I didn't really get that vibe, especially when we called Colin. He was super friendly. But then again, we didn't want to test it and we complied immediately =)
Diplomacy often comes across as friendliness. I've been in situations where I've not acquiesced and seen how quickly things can change. As they say, don't take friendliness for weakness. Wonderfully managed by all parties though.
Yeah, chances are Hegarty was actually impressed and alarmed, and the best way to reconcile both of those was to befriend this kid, share the info so that HegartyMath doesn't get damaged from the leak, and send some praise their way for identifying a glaring security and utility issue in the app.