Collectively as Americans, we generate 250 million terabytes of new data daily. This is primarily done through the use of social media apps - Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter generate the most. However, there are a variety of non-social media apps that collect your data in the background - even if you have revoked its tracking permissions, or it simply does not request any.
For example: in 2013, “Brightest Flashlight Free” was exposed for failing to inform users it shared their location, data, and identifiers with third-party apps and servers. Following the allegations, the developers settled with the FTC.
Similarly, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, threatened to remove Uber from the App Store after learning the app was collecting iOS users’ hardware identifiers.
Instances of apps compromising privacy have been found in several popular gaming, utility, and networking apps you may have downloaded. More instances on these apps - and how to minimize your chances of being tracked on them - can be found in the reading below.
infographic by: www.securitydegreehub.com
