What mobile apps are the worst offenders to user privacy?

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What mobile apps are the worst offenders to user privacy?

gritte14 weeks ago

Tags: mobile apps

Topic: Mobile & Wireless

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jimlynch 14 weeks ago

It's very tough to pin down which ones are the worst, since you will be shooting at a moving target. There are always new apps going up, changes to old apps, etc.

It's best to ask yourself if you really NEED those sort of applications. What will you be using them for? Why do you want them on your device?

I try to err on the side of caution, and keep my apps to a minimum. I've seen "cool apps" many times and just not bothered to install them. Yeah, they might be neat but is it something I really am going to use regularly? Probably not.

So be careful what you install and understand in advance what it might do with your information.

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ernard 14 weeks ago

Anytime you install an app, you are giving away some of your privacy, and free apps that ask for lots of permissions are using you as the product. Your information has value for advertising. When installing an app, I ask why does it need "X" or "Y" permission; does a crossword puzzle really have a legit need to access my GPS data? Nope, and my assumption is if they are seeking it, they will use it. Not all of this is necessarily nefarious. It's just like commercials on network TV, advertisers are subsidizing the free to you experience, and both you and the advertiser receive a benefit.

I don't know which individual apps are the absolute worst, but keep in mind that apps do get removed from the android market and app store. Also this is list little dated since it was released back in March 2011, but lookout mobile security published a list of more than 50 apps that were in the official android market. http://blog.mylookout.com/blog/2011/03/01/security-alert-malware-found-i... These have probably been removed by now, but I feel confident that they have been replaced by other malware apps. I always wait until apps have matured a bit before installing them and try to make sure the developer is established/legit.

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