Cyber security specialists draw attention to confidentiality compromises often overlooked when using popular applications.
Attackers often steal personal data from social networks
These include social media applications, but also others, such as electronic, fitness and health monitoring applications. Although these applications add more comfort, they collect and distribute huge amounts of personal data, exposing users to invasive profiling and potential security risks.
Only in 2024, Kaspersky detected over 49 billion courts in which Web Trackers collected data behavior globally. With the evolution of the pursuit of data based on artificial intelligence and predictive analysis, the risks related to confidentiality associated with these applications are more important than ever.
Many of the applications we use daily, often without realizing it, quietly collects sensitive information. Some of the most worrying categories include social media applications such as Tiktok, Instagram and Threads, which are constantly collecting data on a user’s location, navigation habits and even vocal data.
Social applications based on video or photos, can use artificial intelligence to access photo galleries and analyze the built -in images and metadata, being able to determine your geographical location.
Shopping applications are also used to collect data on purchases, location and even offline presence near physical stores. Like social media applications, retailers can follow our movements online and offline, creating a detailed profile of our habits and our consumer behavior.
Health and fitness applications contribute more to the creation of a detailed profile of a user, collecting some of our most intimate personal data, including health indices and daily routines that can be shared with third parties.
Tips
Data Privacy Day, don’t forget to:
• Check app permissions: Always try to disable unnecessary permissions (eg, access to location for applications that do not need this). Be careful not to blindly accept permissions during installation and refuse those that look excessive.
• Use confidential axed tools: Use an VPN to mask your IP address and change your virtual location. In addition, make sure you use anonymized payment methods and browsers focused on confidentiality for sensitive transactions.
• Ask the applications not to follow your device data: Enable “Do Not Track” settings on your device and within individual applications. Use a security solution with the functionality of “Do Not Track” to limit the pursuit even more.
• Avoid public Wi-Fi connections: Public or false Wi-Fi networks can expose your data, therefore, where possible, try to avoid using public services. Use a VPN if you have to log in.
• Review app settings: Perform a deep privacy audit of your applications and adjust the settings as needed and uninstall all applications that you no longer use. Most smartphone users have dozens of installed applications, but they use only a small number daily.
