How to Protect Your Online Privacy on Mobile Apps

Everyday, the vast majority of Americans walk around with the internet in their hands. Pew Research Center has found that 97% of Americans own a cell phone, and 85% of that share of people own a smartphone specifically. With these statistics, it’s safe to say that most folks are using mobile apps — software specifically designed to run on a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet. In fact, the average person has 40 apps installed on their phone.

Many of us download apps without much thought to online privacy. After all, we’re just seeking ways to stay connected to others, read the news, and check the weather. Yet mobile apps can pose a risk to online privacy. It all depends on their privacy policies and what information they gather from your phone.

What Information Do Mobile Apps Collect?

Mobile apps can collect a range of information from your device. Some apps ask for access to your location, camera and microphone, contacts, and more. In some cases, giving apps access to this information makes sense because it’s the only way for the app to function. For example, a video calling app isn’t going to work without camera and microphone access. Other times, the request for access can be unnecessary. Like downloading a mobile game that asks for access to your camera, microphone, and location when none of these permissions is needed to play the game.

Apps also collect data that you provide when you sign up. Depending on the app, you may be asked to provide loads of personal information like your name, location, birthday, and more. Let’s take mental health apps for example. These apps collect basic personal information mentioned above along with a lot more. Some will ask you to take questionnaires about your emotions and relationships to match you with a therapist. If therapy is provided via video call, the app can then access your camera and microphone. This isn’t a bad thing for privacy so long as the app you’re using is trustworthy and agrees to keep your personal information private rather than selling to third parties. However, that’s not always the case.

The same goes for any app that gathers information from you. Depending on the app’s privacy policy, when you sign up you may be agreeing to your personal data being sold to other companies for marketing purposes.

The Risk to Online Privacy

Mobile apps can gather a lot of your personal information depending on how liberally you share and what permissions you grant the app. One of the obvious risks to your online privacy is when an app gathers this information and sells it to third parties for ad targeting. Advertising companies and data brokers can then create a fuller profile of who you are to ensure that they’re showing you ads for products and services you’re most likely to buy.

There are other online privacy risks, too. It’s not uncommon for apps to be vulnerable to hackers. In 2021, mobile security company Approov ran a test and reported that out of 30 mobile health apps, they were able to hack all of them. Health apps aren’t the only ones vulnerable to attack. Dating apps can be a treasure trove of personal information for hackers. For instance, Bumble came under fire as an API bug exposed personal information of nearly 100 million users.

Aside from apps making poor decisions around your private data, there are also malicious apps specifically designed to hack your phone and steal your personal data. That’s because when users download these apps, they’re downloading malware meant to harm them.

Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy

Thankfully, there are ways to protect your online privacy when it comes to mobile apps. All it takes is some mindfulness and research to ensure you’re downloading a trustworthy app and providing only the basic information you need for it to function.

Before you download an app, be sure to:

• Use Official App Stores. The first step to ensuring that you’re using a reputable app is to download it from a reputable source. It’s always best to download apps from the Google Play store for Androids and the Apple App store for iPhones.
• Do Research. Another way to ensure you’re downloading a safe app is to read reviews and research the developers. Are the developers well trusted? Do users have a good experience with the app?
• Read the Privacy Policy. OK, OK. We know privacy policies are long. But if you can look at a privacy policy to see what information is being shared and with whom, it will certainly benefit you. Another great resource for researching an app’s privacy policy is Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included guide. It reviews the privacy policies of popular dating, mental health, reproductive health, and video call apps so that you don’t have to.
• Be Aware of Permissions. When you download an app, it will ask you for permission to access certain device features. Decline if you feel what’s being asked for is unnecessary. And when sharing location, choose to share your location only when the app is being used rather than all the time.
• Stop Using Social Media Accounts to Sign Up. When you create an account with an app by linking it to your social media, you’re sharing your data from that social media account. Give mobile apps less data by signing up with your email and a unique password instead.

For apps you already installed on your phone, you can:

• Review Permissions. Look through each of the apps you use and see what permissions you’ve granted them. Reduce those permissions if it makes sense (like enabling location sharing only when the app is being used rather than all the time).
• Keep Apps Updated. Make sure you’re updating to the latest version of the app so that security updates and bug fixes can be made by the developers.
• Disconnect Social Media Accounts. If you’ve signed up for an app by linking your social media account, unlink it if you can or if it makes sense to. Using your email address and a unique password means less data sharing between the app and your social media account.
• Delete Unused Apps. Are there apps on your phone you’ve only opened once? Remove unnecessary apps so that they can no longer interact with your mobile advice in the background

We hope this guide is helpful when it comes to increasing your online privacy. With these tips, we believe you’ll be on track for taking back control of your internet experience and your personal data in no time!

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