How to Keep Phone Apps from Knowing Too Much about You

November 15, 2016 1:17 pm

We all love apps especially those social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram and Tumblr. Most of us are semi-addicted to the information and images that flood our smartphones daily. But these apps also come with requests for access to some of your private information. How much is too much? And how can you block the access when it gets to be too much openness?

 

Some apps request things that seem pretty commonsensical like a camera app asking permission to use your phone’s camera. If you spend time on Facebook or Instagram, you probably upload snapshots of your friends and family all the time. Naturally, the app for these services needs to be able to access your photos. But then there are other requests for access that may ask for permission to use your data around the clock. Giving your GPS may seem like a good idea for a mapping app but not so much for a social media app or a video game. Those apps do not need to know your every move.

 

In addition to wanting to know more than they should, some apps try to gain access to your cellular account and charge you monthly fees without your explicit permission. Here are some suggestion so you don’t “get taken” when it comes to allowing access to your private info and images.

  • If you are concerned about an app, delete it from your phone.
  • Use common sense when downloading apps. Buy or only accept apps that come from a reputable source.
  • Use the privacy control settings on your phone. For example, you can choose whether the app can use your contacts or access your photos. You can deny location data entirely by turning off GPS on your phone. To do that, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. (Source Apple)
  • Look at each app and what it has access to. Do this regularly so that a reset or change in user permission does not fool you.

 

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