Sharing Of Personal Information On Apps

There are thousands of apps out there. Almost half of them require us to input some personal information like- email, name, DOB (date of birth), etc. They all guarantee the safety of this information. But there is always a small question in our mind “Is it safe to input my data?”. Let’s have a more in-depth exploration of this situation.

An average smartphone user lately has between sixty to ninety apps on their device. Most of those apps request us some form of info concerning you and also the device you're using. they will wish to know your name, your email address, or your real-world address. However, since smartphones are so powerful, they will also get quite a bit over that, like your precise location. Some apps will even request access to the device’s camera or microphone and some other irrelevant data.

When some permissions are asked with the user’s consent, you will be astonished when you realize how much extra information these apps have access to. Did you know that forty-five % of the foremost common android apps and twenty-five percent of the most popular iOS apps request location tracking, for example? Or that forty-six percent of popular android apps and 25 percent of popular iOS apps request permission to access your device’s camera? Some android apps even request you to provide them access to your SMS messages and call logs.

Now knowing all these things let’s look at how we can protect our data:

Before you install an app:

1) Read the permissions needed for the app.

2) Think about why an app wants the permissions it requests. If the permissions appear excessive, question yourself if they may be there merely to accumulate knowledge about you.

3) Read the privacy policy. If there’s none, or if it’s not possible to determine from it wherever your knowledge can go, don’t install the app.

What to do If you have already installed the app:

1) In the case of android apps, you can remove unnecessary permissions by going to the Settings menu then clicking on Permissions. Removing permissions may cause a poorly designed app to not work. Well-designed apps can indicate if they need permission once you decide to perform the function that needs it.

2)In the case of iOS apps, you can remove unneeded permissions by going to the Settings menu and then clicking on Privacy.

Those were some of the main tips to protect your data. There are many ways you can protect yourself from the threats of the cyber world.

By: Ishana Rajnish
Delhi Public School, Gautam Buddh Nagar