Everyone downloads applications from the app store, but do you know what information you are giving up when you download a new application?

Often mobile applications appear to be harmless, but are they?

One example of a “harmless” application is the Flashlight app. As reported by WDSU News, some flashlight apps gather data such as your name, and contacts stored in your phone and send your data overseas to third parties. Applications’ privacy policies are often very long and the majority decide to accept them without knowing that they are giving these apps permission to collect private information about them. Some flashlight applications even geolocate the user. Now why would a Flashlight app need your geolocation?

In order to prevent the collection of our personal data we must read the terms and conditions; an app developer interviewed by WDSU adds the following tips for better protecting your privacy:

  1. Turn off your GPS and Bluetooth when not in use.
  2. Read an app’s terms and conditions before you download it. (Just do it!)
  3. If you have already downloaded an app that seems suspicious, uninstall it.

Watch the news spot and read the article here: Some Apps on Your Smartphone Could Be Spying on You