If you are concerned about the amount of personal data that is available on your smartphone to third-party applications, there are some apps that you should probably delete as soon as possible. That comes from a new report from Blissmark, which selected a number of apps that are particularly egregious at data collection.
First Facebook. If you’re a prolific Facebook user, this could hurt. After all, having a Facebook account has some great advantages – the social network is almost unmatched for keeping in touch with friends, sharing photos with family members who live on the other side of the planet, and joining like-minded groups around Discuss your interests.
However, when it comes to data tracking, Facebook is a monster. But don’t take our word for it – Facebook itself has been forced to list all of the identifiers it uses to collect information about its users on the Apple App Store as part of its new App Privacy Labels, which act like those nutrition traffic lights on food packaging.
According to Facebook, third party companies that use Mark Zuckerberg’s social network to target users can rely on data from your browsing history, search history, number of contacts, your exact location, purchase history, photos and videos shared on Facebook, your home rely on address and cell phone number, how often the app on your smartphone crashed and more.
If you’re wondering how Facebook has an idea of what your browsing history looks like when you’ve opened Facebook in one tab of your web browser, it can keep track of the activity that is going on in other open tabs. Even if you close the tab with Facebook but stay signed in with this browser whenever you come across a website with these Log in with Facebook Buttons – the company remembers your account (since you’re still logged in) and remembers the website you visit to better customize their ads.
Next up is mSpy.
Blissmark describes this as a “stalkerware app that markets itself to parents”. On the surface, mSpy pretends to be an innocent Find My Friends substitute designed to help parents keep track of the location of their kids’ smartphones. The application, which is free to download but also offers in-app purchases, offers real-time location data and the ability to set up notifications when someone you’re watching leaves or arrives at a predetermined destination.
All of this is possible with Apple’s Find My app, which is preinstalled on all iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Apple keeps your location data locked because it doesn’t take a massive interest in your location. Instead, it wants you and everyone else in your family to buy an expensive new iPhone – since Find My doesn’t work with Android phones.
For families with smartphones on iOS and Android, mSpy claims to be a viable alternative. However, the app wants access to an exceptionally large amount of data. While it’s not alarming when mSpy requests access to your current location, it’s a little confusing why software of this type needs to track your text messages, phone calls, and activity on popular applications like WhatsApp and Snapchat.
And finally, words with friends. This is a simple Scrabble-like game designed to be played with friends and family over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection. However, the privacy watchdog FTC Guardian has highlighted some privacy concerns with the app. For example, the game tracks your exact location when you play the game to display location-based advertisements.
Speaking of games, FTC Guardian also highlights Angry Birds as a bad app icon that is scattered around your home screen. With more than 2 billion downloads and one Hollywood movie since its inception in 2009, Angry Birds is a global phenomenon. However, it’s not worth flocking to the apps, sequels, and spin-offs if you’re concerned about privacy.
As reported by FTC Guardian, Angry Birds logs information about your phone calls, signal strength, cellular network currently in use, device ID, and number. Angry Birds is also notable for being one of the few apps that GCHQ aimed at tapping user information from smartphones due to its poor security. Yikes
Newer versions don’t exactly have this problem, but still it might be worth another look if you’re trying to keep your data close to your chest.
