Are you getting spied by apps? Its time to wake up!

In today's world almost 77% uses smartphones to carry out his or hers essential works. Today, billion of works can be performed from your smartphone itself, whether it be a feature phone or a smartphone.
So what does a smartphone has which helps to perform such variety of works? You guessed right, it is the variety of apps present in it. With upgrading technology and the arrival of smartphones in the market, the number of apps in the market have also increased to a very large extent.
Today, we all have around 100-200 apps in our phones out of which some we use most often, while some of them we hardly use.
It is not a question of doubt that various apps have helped us to make our lives easier than before. But, are we using these apps on the cost of our privacy and data? The answer without any doubt will be 'NO'. But this situation has now began to take place and its the time for us to 'wake up'.

How can apps with privacy risks harm you?

Apps with privacy risks can severely harm you. There are two types of risky apps in terms of misusing your privacy, they are ones which misuse your provided information and the second which use your information which you didn't provide.

Apps misusing your provided data

While using any smartphone, you provide your valuable data to several apps thinking that its safe with them. In most cases it is safe but in few cases it proves to be unsafe. They sell the information collected from you to a third interested party. They get a huge sum of money in return of your information.
We can understand it with the help of an example- Assume that you have downloaded an app and when you open it, it asks for your profession. It can then sell this information to a job providing website, which will always annoy you by sending you unnecessary mails and messages for which you never opted.

Apps misusing your data which you didn't provide

These apps are much more dangerous than apps which only use the data you provided. For these apps you need to be very much careful when granting them permission to your phone's services and feature, it can be permission of camera, contacts or storage etc. It first take permission from you to access your phone's services and then uses it whenever it feels like. The information it collects doing that, it then uses to earn a large sum of money.
We can understand it with the help of an example- Assume that you are downloading an app and while doing so or opening it after it has been downloaded, it asks permission for recording your screen or camera and you allow it. It has then got the freedom to record your screen any time without taking your permission. Assume that you logged in to a banking site and entered all your bank details, then there is a possibility that it may have recorded all your bank details which it can then use to withdraw all money present in your account or can sell your bank details to a third interested party.

How to prevent yourself from downloading such Apps?

It is true that these apps are very dangerous, but they cannot do that until you grant them the permission. Which means that you are safe and protected until you are careful and updated. You just need to take care about the following points-

1. Before downloading any app see what permission you are granting to that.
2. Also think whether to grant that permission to the respective app or not and that permission is required for the working of that app.
3. Like a study app should not need permission for camera.
4. Avoid adding your personal details on any non-trusted apps.
5. Avoid downloading apps from websites, instead, download apps from trusted platforms such as Google PlayStore and Apple AppStore.
6. You also need to be updated with apps that have been removed by the PlayStore or AppStore(because they mostly remove apps which they find malicious in their working), as there is a chance that you might be having that particular app installed on your phone.

What to do for apps you have installed before reading this article

Now you know how to prevent yourself from getting trapped by malicious apps and apps with privacy risks. But a question must be arising that "How to track such apps previously installed on my phone" , you not worry its not too late you can still track them. You just need to go to your phone's settings and see which app is using what permission and if you see an app using a permission which you think it doesn't need to work or you see an app you don't trust using a permission, you can turn that permission for that particular app . Doing so is very easy, you just need to follow the bellow steps-

1. Go Settings.
2. Scroll down and select Permissions option.
3. Then Permissions button on the next page.
4. A list of features and services will appear.
5. Clicking any feature will open a list of apps using that feature.
6. You can now, turn on or off any permission for any app.
7. You can customize even more, the permissions used by several apps, by selecting the Other permissions option under Permissions button.

Some recently deleted apps from PlayStore

This is a list of apps recently deleted by Google from PlayStore. If you use any of these apps, you are rquested to delete them from your phone immediately.

• Spark Wallpaper
• Ruddy SMS
• Rapid Face Scanner
• Mini Camera
• Ignite Clean
• Declare Message
• Collate Face Scanner
• Board picture editing

Cyber Security is a very important topic these days of which we need to take care of. Anti-Virus softwares can tell you about various viruses, trojans etc. but if you are not careful then even these softwares cannot help you.
If you have any doubt related to this topic you can ask me in the comment section I'll be happy to answer :) .