Tuesday, October 2, 2018

How to Stop Apps from Oversharing Personal Information

It is no doubt that applications have become a necessary part of our lives. Phone apps are capable of increasing the level of efficiency in our daily lives. These exceptionally useful apps can help us manage emails, show the best route to take, provide entertainment, assist with diet charts, and a lot more. However, while users are using apps for convenience, they aren’t aware of how much data about them are these handy apps are revealing to outsiders.
A majority of individuals are not shocked to find that applications are capable of collecting user’s private information. If you go through the apps’ terms of service, then it will be mentioned. Unfortunately, many users do not read the Terms before installing the app. Also, the Terms of Service does not reveal what sort of information is being stored by apps and what it is being used for.

Oversharing Apps

Almost all the applications in app stores, especially the ones that are free, share use data in one way or the other. In many instances, such personal information is generalized and distributed indiscriminately with third-party services for a diversity of reasons – mostly to target more precise ads.
Certain applications tend to share more information than any user would like. Recently, an Android torch app quietly shared user location as well as device data with advertisers. The app’s policy neglected to state that the user information could be shared with third-parties.

Measures to take to prevent apps from oversharing personal data

Even though quite a number of applications clearly state what they will be doing with the user data, many apps are deceiving and not so honest. In light of this, you can adopt certain measures to stop your information from being overshared by apps. These measures are given here:
  • Firstly, conduct thorough research regarding the applications and their distributors. Before installing any app, check its ratings and user reviews.
  • Take your time in going through the app’s privacy policy. Moreover, keep an eye on the Permissions needed by the app.
  • Disable location sharing for apps, unless you are using ride-sharing services or navigation apps.
  • Keep tweaking the privacy settings on the phone from time to time to ensure that the security settings are in place.
  • Whenever any new version of an app comes, update it. Do not delay app updates as they usually contain patches and fixes.
  • Remove the application that you do not use from the smartphone.
Due to an increase in incidents related to data breaches and identity thefts, it has become important to manage our data securely. Therefore, you must ensure that the apps you use do not share your private information with others. While downloading an app, read the fine print and keep your data secure.
Karen Minton is a creative person who has been writing blogs and articles about cyber security. She writes about the latest updates regarding mcafee.com/activate and how it can improve the work experience of users. Her articles have been published in many popular e-magazines, blogs and websites.

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