It’s time to learn more about the way apps have the ability to handle the info on your phone. It is always recommended that you learn about the app permissions consciously before saying yes to everything. You can save yourself a whole lot of trouble if you take some simple steps before ever downloading any apps.
You can start by listening to a word of advice from Caleb Barlow, former VP of IBM Security and current CEO and President of CynergisTek. “Only get mobile applications from the legit stores,” he explains, referring to GooglePlay and the Apple store.
Once you have cleared the way to download apps from credible sources then comes the permissions bit. Be religious about permissions and check on application permissions on a regular basis. Turn off permissions that are not required for the application to work properly.
Apps that have the ability to Spy on You
CamScanner
CamScanner, an app meant to imitate a scanner with your phone, is one of the apps consumers should be concerned about. “Cybersecurity experts have found a malicious component installed in the app that acts as a Trojan-Downloader.
This keeps collecting infected files. This kind of app can seriously damage your phone and should be de-installed instantly. Luckily, once you remove it from your phone, it is highly unlikely that it will continue harming you.
Cybersecurity expert Raffi Jafari, cofounder and creative director of Caveni Digital Solutions, says, “If you are looking for apps to delete to protect your information, the absolute worst culprit is Facebook. The sheer scale of their data collection is staggering, and it is often more intrusive than companies like Google. If you had to pick one app to remove to protect your data, it would be Facebook.”
Unfortunately, Jafari says that Facebook is “notorious for collecting data on you even if you do not use their service. But removing Facebook-powered applications from your phone is a great first step to protecting your privacy.”
Whatsapp and Instagram are both powered by Facebook ecosystem. Dave Salisbury, director of the University of Dayton Center for Cybersecurity and Data Intelligence, says that Instagram “requests several permissions that include but are not limited to modifying and reading contacts and the contents of your storage, locating your phone, reading your call log, modifying system settings, and having full network access.”
App Updates automatically add additional capabilities. “People need to remember that at Facebook, and plenty of other places, you’re the product, not the customer,” Salisbury says. “Information about you, what you do, where you go, who you interact with.
Flashlight apps
Most phones already come with a built-in flashlight function. So you really don’t need to install another free app that could be collecting and selling your data.
Free flashlight apps are often of high cybersecurity risks,” says Harold Li, vice president of ExpressVPN, a consumer privacy and security company. “Many of these apps are free but ad-supported, and they often request permissions, such as audio recording and contact information, to apparently function properly.
When users install these apps, they risk sharing their personal data with app developers who monetize the data by selling them to advertisers.” Li recommends removing these apps entirely. Then he recommends updating your passwords for any social media or email accounts you use on your phone.
Dating apps
Dating Apps that have the ability to Spy on You include Tinder and Grindr both. They collect over 50 percent of your personal data (Facebook takes the cake at 70 percent), according to cybersecurity firm Clairo. They get names, email addresses, phone numbers, employment, and even pet ownership statuses, beyond the obvious location and age data.
In 2020, five different dating apps experienced data breaches, leaking information from millions of profiles, putting users at risk of phishing, phone scams, and identity theft.