How To Protect Your Data While Using Apps On Your Smartphone

Staying secure while using apps on your smartphone has become important as protecting yourself at home or during your commute to work. You really cannot trust the apps on your Android or iPhone when it comes to data privacy. You cannot take for granted whether or not an app is tracking you, and no protection is foolproof in today’s world of ever-evolving technology. Many apps malfunction as a result of updates. They behave well today and could turn bad tomorrow if there’s an improvement on one feature or another. 

But there are ways you can protect your data privacy and stay safe while using apps on your smartphone. The following tips were suggested by data privacy experts. Moreover, it’s important you do a bit of research on the software and advice shared in this post. 

1). Start with a password manager

The strongest passwords consist of strings of characters which are randomly selected. They can be a series of letters, numbers and symbols chosen in no particular order, which are less likely to be found in any dictionary and hard for a computer to crack with brute force. The downside, however, is that these passwords are complex and difficult to remember.

A password manager app makes it easy. This is because they keep all your passwords in one encrypted and password-protected app. They also generate strong passwords for you, and help you remember them. You might ask, What about apps like Google Chrome and Samsung’s proprietary phone app that offer to save passwords for you? Of course, Data security experts say it’s safer to use a password manager.

Another thing to note is, don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. If one account is hacked, all the other accounts go with it. With a password manager, each one of your accounts can have a different, complex and difficult-to-crack password. Some will even generate passwords for you.

There are many other password managers you can choose from but we recommend Bitwarden.

2). Stay on a Private Network while in public

Since the Twitter ban a lot of Nigerians have discovered VPN so it becomes difficult for third parties to track their activities online and steal data. VPN shouldn’t be limited to accessing Twitter only. V.P.N stands for Virtual Private Network and can prevent your data from being stolen by a third party (for example, the federal Government) lurking on the same public network. It can also hide your data transmissions, avoid filtering and censorship on the internet and allow you to access a wider variety of content around the world. If you’re going to use a public Wi-Fi network while on your phone instead of using your mobile data, experts suggest you use a virtual private network. Ensure you read through the terms and agreement so you know what data might be collected and where it will be stored. Here’s a list of the best VPNs to use for Twitter and other networks.

3). Start to take ‘App permission’ seriously

Very few smartphone users know how to limit permissions to apps. You can control the kind of access every app has to your android phone or iOS at any time. However, you should keep in mind that turning off permissions may cause apps on your device to misbehave or malfunction.

For Android users follow these steps, 

1. On your Android device, open the Settings app .
2. Tap Apps & notifications.
3. Tap Advanced. App permissions.
4. Select a permission, like Calendar, Location, or Phone.
5. Choose which apps should have access to that permission.

To review or control access to information in apps

1. Go to Settings  
2. Next, Privacy.
3. Tap a category of information, such as Calendars, Reminders, or Motion & Fitness. The list shows the apps that requested access. 
4. Turn access on or off for any app on the list.

4). Make ‘App Update’ a golden practice

Updating your apps, especially the OS, is very crucial as it helps to keep your data safe. It also keeps your phone up-to-date, preventing hackers from exploiting you via the Internet. You can set apps to update automatically or you can visit the app store periodically and do it manually. It’s just like Anti-virus software once it’s prone to attack once it’s outdated. So also updates are like vaccinations for your smartphone. You are shielded from hackers who are always devising new means to steal people’s data. 

5). Only go to Google or Apple store to download apps

Though not every app on ‘App Store’ or ‘Google Play store’ is from a trusted supplier or developer, these stores are owned by worthy companies and safer for downloads. Apps are usually vetted by these companies (Google and Apple) to be sure they meet the standard requirements of quality of data protection. They work with the app developers to ensure there’s a dedicated privacy policy for you confirming that your data will be protected. It is risky to try to download apps from unknown sites as it increases the risk of hackers taking full control of your smartphone.

Finally, there are other security measures you want to take note and practise. Such as regulating your activities on social media. Watch the kind of information you share on social media, whether or not the site wants them on your profile. The less information you put out, the less data that is available to hackers. Try to limit the amount of information to only those that are necessary.