How much personal data are your Android and iOS apps collecting? New study reveals the scary truth | Laptop Mag
How much personal information are your Android and iOS apps collecting? New report reveals the scary truth
A new study about how much personal and private data location tracking apps gather has shown the extent of sensitive information being taken. Spoiler warning: It might be fourth dimension to turn your location data off.
Ii researchers, Mirco Musolesi from the University of Bologna in Italian republic and Benjamin Baron from Academy College London in the Great britain, published new findings that identified the personal information being taken from location tracking apps using their very own TrackingAdvisor app.
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The app continuously collected user location data and extracted personal data, which select users in the written report would then rate in terms of privacy sensitivity. The results weren't pretty.
A total of 69 users took role, using the TrackAdvisor app for at least two weeks. During the time period, more than 200,000 locations were tracked, which identified well-nigh 2,500 places and collected effectually 5,000 pieces of personal data concerning demographics and personality. The report revealed that users thought the nearly sensitive data that was taken via the app were about their health, socio-economic situation, ethnicity, and faith. All just from having the permission turned on.
"We think it is important to show users the amount and quality of information that apps tin can collect through location tracking", researcher Musolesi said. "Equally important for u.s.a. is to understand whether users think that sharing information with app managers or marketing firms is acceptable or deem it a violation of their privacy."
Musolesi also states that this study could help shed low-cal on the "development of systems that can automatically block the collection of sensitive data from third parties thanks to previously divers privacy settings." This ways more applications can bring attention to having location settings on, and exactly what data is beingness taken, or show what violates a user'due south privacy.
The study, called "Where You Go Matters: A Written report on the Privacy Implications of Continuous Location Tracking" was published in the periodical "Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies," and you can read more into it right hither.
Plow off location trackers
ExpressVPN too did a deep dive into apps with location trackers, only to find each one had malicious software development kits (SDK), meaning user'southward movements are being monitored. What'south worse, the apps accept billions of downloads.
For those who don't like their individual information being gathered, it's a good thought to go into your smartphone'southward location settings and change each apps' permission that gives them access to your location. Or turn off location altogether.
If you prefer to mask your location data instead, that'south when a VPN comes in handy. Not sure what it does? Well, here'southward everything yous demand to know about a VPN.
Darragh Murphy is fascinated by all things bizarre, which usually leads to assorted coverage varying from washing machines designed for AirPods to the mischievous globe of cyberattacks. Whether information technology's connecting Scar from The Lion King to 2-factor authentication or turning his love for gadgets into a made rap boxing from 8 Mile, he believes there'southward always a quirky spin to be made. With a Principal'southward caste in Magazine Journalism from The University of Sheffield, along with short stints at Kerrang! and Exposed Magazine, Darragh started his career writing about the tech industry at Time Out Dubai and ShortList Dubai, roofing everything from the latest iPhone models and Huawei laptops to massive Esports events in the Middle East. At present, he can exist institute proudly diving into gaming, gadgets, and letting readers know the joys of docking stations for Laptop Mag.
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/news/how-much-personal-data-are-your-android-and-ios-apps-collecting-new-study-reveals-the-scary-truth
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