Privacy is very threatened these days. The data they "steal" to users are extracted with the user's own consent, since they inadvertently accept these conditions as we will see in the next section. And they don't do it in a transparent way, but in a way that is hidden from the user who doesn't really know what data is being sent to the app developer's server or that ends up in third-party companies to be analyzed with Big Data.
Best apps for privacy
If you're looking for apps to improve privacy on your mobile device, here are some recommendations:
Avast or Avira or ESET Antivirus
There are many antiviruses for Android, but you don't only have to think about which one is the best in terms of antivirus scanning, but also which ones are European so as not to use software with certain privileges that comes from Russia, the US or China. And those Europeans are precisely Avira or Avast, and even ESET. Choose the one you want...
CONAN Mobile
CONAN Mobile is an app that was created by the Spanish company INCIBE under the framework of the European Union. This application has been designed to be a perfect anti-botnet, those dreaded malware that ends up hijacking your network and your resources to do evil things without the user being aware.
ProtonVPN
If you are looking for an a good VPN that is not overpriced and is based in Europe for data protection and security law reasons, then ProtonVPN is the perfect one for you. Undoubtedly one of the best and most trustworthy, with robust encryption, no logs, fast, and technologies to improve the experience.
Bouncer
Sometimes you install an app on your system that you barely use, but leave because you're going to use it again. These types of apps could be a problem for your privacy if you neglect them, or rather if you neglect their permissions. As well, Bouncer is an app that will help you manage temporary permissions for these apps. And only for €1,99.
secure call
An app that follows an architecture Peer to Peer and end to end encryption to make voice calls securely with whoever you want. A way to be protected also in conversations and that others cannot tap the communication to intercept it.
The danger of license agreements
Surely you have read the phrase "I have read and accept the terms and conditions of use» on many occasions, perhaps today you have done it sometime. However, you will have hit accept without even reading the entire text of the license agreement. Among other things, because it is either accepting or not being able to use the app or service, and between going on to use the app or service directly and having to read pages and pages of heavy clauses of the agreement that you sign when accepting with the provider company. But this can have much more serious consequences than many think:
- Cancel the services when the company wants: Some clauses of the licenses or terms and conditions of service may also imply that the company or developer of the app has the right to suspend development or cancel the service at any time, without giving you the opportunity to complain or do anything. Therefore, if you have important data on these types of services, you should make additional backups. For example, Dropbox could one day close its servers and all your data would be lost, for that reason it would not hurt to leave your data in another cloud storage service so that you can always have it even if one of the services is closed.
- Have access to your data and destroy your privacy: You may also be unknowingly accepting clauses so that the company can access your data, even if it is encrypted by the app itself. Imagine the same example as the previous one, a cloud storage service that tells you that your data is safe because of the strong encryption they use on their servers. And it is true, they are safe so that third parties cannot access by attacking the server, but they who have the encryption key could perfectly access your data. And this implies access to all data, private, intimate or not. For example, if you store nude or compromised images, documents with intellectual property, and other sensitive data such as banking data. And this can be a serious mistake if it falls into the wrong hands or into an unsuspecting employee of the company that provides the service.
- That uses your data to sell them to third parties or for practices that you would not tolerate if you knew: you could also be accepting that your data goes to a third party to use it for any purpose, such as performing data analysis for advertising campaigns, to offer you ads more in line with you, etc., and even that they are used for something with what you disagree with. For example, they could be fodder for artificial intelligence algorithms to learn from your private data or for other purposes that may have consequences. And no matter how anonymous they say the data they collect is, it is your data after all.
That's why it's so important to know what you're exposing yourself to. Although it is heavy, you have to read the license agreements.
App permissions, the threat to privacy
You have already been able to see the legal requirements that companies obtain with your consent to extract all the data they need about the user. Now is the time to find out how all that app data is leaked and how it affects your privacy. And for that there is only one answer: trackers and permissions. It is the permissions that you also accept when installing an app on your mobile device that are unknowingly collecting data. However, even without active permissions, or in an app that doesn't need permissions, data may also be being collected using tracker code. Therefore, to make sure that this does not happen, there are two ways. One of them is to work offline, when possible, and the other is to use a VPN to encrypt network traffic and make everything more anonymous.
Do not forget to control the permissions of your apps and read the license agreements from now on. This way you will know what you are exposed to and what your rights are when using the service or app. And don't forget to take a look around Settings > Apps > Permissions and from there manage the permissions that you consider abusive for each app.