Mobile Security: Is Your Mobile App Spying On You?

That smartphone in your pocket is such an amazing invention. Merely a finger swipe away lies all of your most precious information: emails, contacts, calendars, photos of your family, your social media accounts. You may have thought about how to protect that information from physical threats by securing it with a passcode and keeping your phone nearby, but is there security against “inside jobs”? What about all of those apps on your phone, are they secretly stealing your information without you even noticing? How can you tell?

 

This year Appthority released its App Reputation Report that a staggering 99% of free Android and iOS apps exhibit at least one risky behavior. This means that 99% of free smartphone apps are taking at least 1 piece of information from your smartphone that they don’t really need to access.

According to Appthority, the majority of these apps attempt to track your location, access your address book, or collect identifying information about you. Which begs the question: is that free app really worth your loss of privacy, especially when you likely don’t even know what information its snooping?

 

What Is Your Android App Accessing?

So how can you tell if you apps are stealing your information? The first step is to start looking at the permissions an app asks for when you install it. On Android phones, whenever you install a new app you will be prompted to accept the access permissions that the app wants in order to run. Some things it may legitimately need to access, but in other cases it may simply be nosy.

The “Super-Bright LED Flashlight” app, for example, needs access to your camera in order to trigger the LED flash to use as a light. But does it really need access to your photos, files, WiFi information, and device ID? Probably not – this free flashlight app might not be as much of a bargain as you thought.

 

 

 

So what about apps you’ve already installed? How can you tell what information they’re allowed to access? In Android you can go to Settings>Apps and then tap the app you want to find out more about. As you scroll down the “App info” screen you’ll see a list of Permissions (areas of your phone that the app is allowed to access).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surely There’s an Easier Way?

Absolutely! There are a few programs out there that keep an eye on your apps and look after your privacy, but my personal favorite is BitDefender Mobile Security & Antivirus. Its a paid app (but there’s a free trial) but in addition to keeping your phone safe from viruses, it also has an excellent “Privacy Advisor” feature. The Privacy Advisor looks at all of your apps and alerts that may be trying to access more information than they should – much easier than trying to stay on top of that yourself!