Smartphones feel like an extension of ourselves at this point. But because we use them so much, they have a ton of data about us. From where we go, what we like, to who we talk to, and even what credentials we use to log into mobile banking services.
You might not worry about third-party apps collecting all of that data. But no matter what you think about privacy and ads, you will likely agree that hackers shouldn’t get their hands on this data. If you want to improve your security and keep your valuable personal information away from prying eyes, here’s what you can do:
- Manage app permissions. Don’t let apps track everything you do.
- Encrypt your data on your phone and SD card as well.
- Delete old apps. They’re just cluttering your phone anyway, all while collecting data in the background.
- Lock your phone with a PIN, passcode, fingerprint, or Face ID.
- Enable a Find My Device service.
- Don’t postpone updates. They contain valuable safety features against the latest cyber threats.
- Install security-enhancing apps like an antivirus, password manager, or VPN.
VPNs can help encrypt your traffic, so they can be really useful. Especially when you’re on a public Wi-Fi connection. If you’re not sure about which VPN to pick, we recommend NordVPN:
However, when it comes to the security of your smartphone, there’s a lot more to it than just installing or uninstalling apps. In this article, we’ll talk about smartphone privacy issues and how to deal with them.
Perhaps no other tool in modern history has revolutionized our lives as much as the smartphone has. This handheld computer has replaced the camera, GPS, calculator, address book, and many more devices. We now have unprecedented access to information at our fingertips.
Unfortunately, all of these useful features can easily be turned against us by advertisers or hackers that invade our privacy. If that worries you, stick around. We’ll explore what a smartphone’s privacy risks are and what you can do to stay safe.
How Smartphones Threaten Your Privacy
Our smartphones go wherever we are. We check our social media during breakfast, have a quick look at work emails while at lunch, and even book a flight for a quick getaway. For many people, it’s the first thing they look at in the morning and the last thing they glance at before they doze off to sleep. With that in mind, just imagine the amount of data your smartphone can access about you.
Your phone is equipped with a suite of sensors. These can monitor where you are, what you browse online, whether or not you’re in motion, and more. Here’s a list of common things your phone might store about you:
- Passwords and other credentials that allow you to access important accounts
- Your location history
- Sensitive photographs and documents, as well as their metadata
- Personal medical information
- A track record of communication with assistant apps like Siri
- Your phone calls history
And plenty more. So let’s cover the most common ways your smartphone’s data is collected and used against you.
Apps collecting and selling your data
Apps usually need permission to access data from your phone. However, that’s not the failsafe you might think it is. For example, apps need your permission to access your location data but not to access your smartphone’s motion sensors.
Even reputable apps like Instagram or Twitter collect as much data as they can using your smartphone’s sensors. A lot of them track your location, browsing history, credentials, and plenty more parameters to understand who you are and what you respond to. They then sell this data to advertisers, so you’re more likely to buy whatever they sell.
For some people, that’s a great deal. They’re happy to sacrifice some privacy for relevant ads. But if you’re here, chances are you’re not fine with that. And you don’t want all the data your phone collects about you to be easily available to advertisers, especially since that data can fall into the wrong hands after a breach.
Large-scale security breaches
You might trust app developers or third parties to respectfully handle your data. Unfortunately, you can’t trust the hacker breaching a third party’s database to handle your data responsibly. And they will breach it. There were over 4,100 security breaches in 2022, exposing over 22 billion records.
This is a permanent risk when apps collect so much data about smartphone users. That data may be safe with Facebook, Google, or Snapchat (it’s not, Cambridge Analytica proved that). But the moment a data breach happens, cybercriminals gain access to all that personal information. They can steal your passwords, bank details, browsing history, and plenty more. They can even gain access to sensitive medical data if they breach a period-tracking app, for example.
GPS and Wi-Fi tracking your location
Location data is mostly tracked through GPS, which might not be news to you. But here’s something you might not know: Wi-Fi networks are also used to pinpoint your location. And while you can turn off your phone’s GPS receiver, Wi-Fi location tracking works even if your Wi-Fi is turned off. Not to mention, it’s really accurate. Wi-Fi tracking can tell the specific aisle you’re on in a supermarket.
A lot of apps tap into that location data. It can be used to better understand your behavior and needs, so it’s extremely valuable to advertisers. That’s why apps can try to collect it even if they don’t need it to function. For example, the Wizz Air app tracks your location, presumably to find good flights nearby. If you think about it, however, that’s redundant. When you browse for a flight, you’ll need to input your departure location, anyway.
Malware and viruses
If you’re not careful when browsing the web, you might inadvertently download malware or viruses. Some just annoy you with ads. Others can render your phone useless or, worse yet, mine your data without being detected.
They’re not uncommon, either. Mobile malware and virus attacks can total over 5 million in a single quarter. So you should pay close attention to what you download on your phone and invest in good antivirus software to catch any problem in its tracks.
Granted, the security suites of phones are getting better. But when crucial personal data is on the line, you can’t really be too safe. Different types of software found in iPhones and Android devices will have varying security measures.
Hacked cameras or microphones
Apps spying on you through your phone’s microphone is not make-believe. It’s a real, documented phenomenon. For example, Alphonso is an app that taps into your microphone and listens for any identifiable shows or movies in the background. This information is then added to your user profile and used to show you targeted ads.
Even more scarily – if hackers gain access to your phone, they can tap into your camera or microphone and track everything that feeds through that. It’s not a common occurrence, but it can have devastating consequences when it happens.
Losing your phone
Some people don’t take mobile theft and loss seriously. Especially if it never happened to them. They might accept it’s a risk but think that they’re careful enough to avoid this risk. Unfortunately, losing your phone or having it stolen is a very real possibility. 70 million smartphones are lost each year, and only 7 percent of them are recovered.
Think about everything you have stored on your phone. All your passwords, images, conversations, credentials, and more. Having your phone hacked and risking all of that information falling into the wrong hands can truly affect your life.
Using public Wi-Fi networks
Public Wi-Fi is really convenient. You can stay connected while walking around the mall, enjoying your coffee, or working in a library. In some places, you can even connect to a public Wi-Fi network when riding the bus.
But you’re not the only one on that network. Hackers can use public Wi-Fi, especially networks that aren’t secured with a password, to steal your data. Phishing campaigns, packet sniffing, identity fraud, and man-in-the-middle attacks are all real risks when connected to public Wi-Fi without a care in the world. That’s why staying safe on public Wi-Fi is extremely important.
Government access to your personal information
Whether or not governments have access to your data depends on where you live. Even the extent to which they can access your data can vary drastically from country to country. But if there’s a safe bet, it’s that most subpoenas will lead to government access to personal information that’s not encrypted.
This can be done to serve justice and catch criminals. And, of course, we have no problem with that. But governments also have a long history of indiscriminate surveillance. From the NSA’s long list of privacy breaches to China tracking protestors’ phones to arrest them, public surveillance can take many forms.
So where do you turn when you can’t trust your apps, you can’t trust your government, and the risk of hacking is ever present? We can’t promise you’ll be rid of all these threats. But we can show you how to make your personal information more secure.
How to Protect Your Smartphone’s Sensitive Information
If you want to keep your data safe at all times, securing your phone is not enough. You need to make sure you always browse the web safely, get some extra security apps, and employ common sense at all times.
That being said, securing your phone is a good first step. And we’ll show you everything you need to do if you want to mitigate the risks to your private information.
1. Manage app permissions
Most apps won’t function if you don’t give them all permissions they ask for. But you can always change permissions while you’re not using an app. Here’s how to change app permissions on an Android phone:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Privacy. Sometimes this is labeled as “Security and Privacy,” and you’ll have to find the Privacy menu in here.
- Click on Permission Manager.
- You will see a list of app categories.
- Browse each data category and look for apps that have permission they shouldn’t. Location services are a good place to start.
- Click on the app and select “Don’t allow.”
And here’s how to change app permissions on an iOS device:
- Go to Settings.
- Open the “Privacy and Security” menu.
- Browse the iOS apps listed here, and check which third-party app has access to them.
- If you want to change permissions, just click on the slider next to each third-party app.
Some apps can function well even if you deny some permissions. In the case you want to adjust the privacy settings on your phone, you will see that you will still be able to access many popular social media platforms.
2. Encrypt your data
Encrypting your data can help if your phone gets infected, if your phone is lost or stolen, or when you trade it in for a new phone. When you encrypt data on your phone, it also stops apps from reading the content of your files without your permission, hence enhancing privacy and security. This can keep your information safe from virus attacks or malicious apps overstepping their data-sharing bounds.
Some mobile devices already have encrypted data active. For example, all iOS devices encrypt data when you set a lock screen password. If that’s not the case for you, here’s how you can encrypt your data:
- Make sure you have a password or PIN-protected lock screen.
- Open your phone settings.
- Look for the Security menu. On some phones, it’s labeled as “Biometrics and security.”
- Look for any encryption menu. If you can’t find the option “Encrypt phone” or something similar, it means your phone’s data is already encrypted.
- (Optional) Encrypt your SD card data. An option like “Encrypt SD card” should be available in this menu. Just know that this will mean your SD card can only be read from this device. If you want to use it on other devices, you need to de-encrypt it from the same menu. You should also do this before resetting the phone to factory settings.
If you ever sell or give away your old phone, don’t forget to delete all of your apps and data, regardless of what operating system you use.
3. Delete old apps
If you open your app menu right now, I bet you’ll find at least five apps that you haven’t opened recently. Unless you regularly purge your phone, these old apps can sit around for months or even years. And these apps can come with some risks. While you may not be using the app, the permissions you gave it are still in effect.
If the app has permission to use your location, access other apps, or use your microphone, it may still be keeping track of your smartphone. So take five minutes from your day and uninstall old apps. To do this, you just need to tap and hold an app’s icon on both Android and iOS. A menu will pop up. Just click on “Uninstall,” and you’re good to go.
4. Lock your phone
It may seem obvious, but enabling a lock screen protected by a PIN is one of the simplest measures you can take to protect your data. If you ever lose your phone or it gets stolen, it’s also one of the most effective protection measures.
Most modern mobile devices will prompt you to set up a PIN when you first boot up the device. However, if you haven’t done this yet, then here’s how you can set up a PIN on an Android phone:
- Open Settings.
- (Optional) Open your Security menu. I say optional because many Android phones have their Lock Screen options in the main Settings menu.
- Click on Lock Screen.
- Enable Lock Screen.
- Choose the type of lock screen you want.
- Set a password, PIN, or fingerprint.
If you use an iOS device, here’s how to lock your phone:
- Open Settings.
- If you have Face ID, tap Face ID and Passcode. If you don’t, tap Touch ID and Passcode.
- Tap Turn On Passcode.
- Enter your chosen Passcode.
After you set up a Passcode, you can also enable Touch ID or Face ID.
5. Enable Find My Device services
Find My Device services are really useful if your phone is lost or stolen. You can turn on its GPS tracking remotely and figure out where it is. However, you need to enable this before losing physical access to your phone. So if you don’t already have the Find My Device service active, you should turn it on. Here’s how to do this on iOS devices:
- Open Settings.
- Click on your name.
- Tap on the “Find My” option.
- Input your Apple ID.
- Click on Find My iPhone.
- Turn on “Find My iPhone.”
To locate your iOS device after it was lost, open iCloud on any browser and log in with your Apple ID.
Most Android devices have a Find My Device service from their developer, which you can activate. For simplicity, though, we’ll outline how you can activate Google’s Find My Device service on any Android device:
- Download the Google Find My Device app from the Google Play Store.
- Log in with your Google Account.
- Enable location tracking services on your device.
To locate your Android device after it was lost, open Find My Device on any browser and log in with your Google Account.
6. Don’t postpone updates
Were you ever browsing your smartphone in peace when a pesky update notification popped up on the screen and ruined your day? Next time, don’t hit postpone. Updates may be annoying, and they can take as long as 30 minutes to install. But they don’t just facelift your phone’s interface once a month. They also come with crucial security updates.
So whether you have an Android or an iOS device, get into the habit of updating your phone as soon as a new version rolls out.
7. Install security-enhancing apps
If you want to take your phone safety to the next level, you can consider security-enhancing apps like an antivirus, password manager, and VPN app. Here’s how they help:
- An antivirus will safeguard your phone against malware, viruses, and other dangerous software. Choosing the best antivirus software is essential for your privacy.
- A password manager will generate and store powerful passwords for you, making them nearly impossible to crack.
- A VPN (Virtual Private Network) will change your IP address and encrypt your online activity. Ensure you choose the best VPN provider to cover all your security needs.
These apps are not usually free. But all of them are worth the small investment into your online security.
A VPN: Privacy’s Best Friend
A VPN is one of the best things you can get to enhance your phone’s privacy. When you connect to the web with a VPN, your internet traffic is routed through the VPN’s server. This middleman approach helps separate you from the information you provide or request. It also keeps you anonymous, encrypts your data, and lets you access more content online.
A VPN is always valuable. But it can be extremely useful when using your device over public Wi-Fi or if you want to unblock geo-restricted content. If you want a good VPN for phone privacy, NordVPN is the smartest choice.
- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
- Perfect for privacy and streaming
- Trusted by many, with over 14 million users
Conclusion: Smartphone Privacy and Protection
In a time when privacy scandals are rocking some of the largest businesses, taking steps to enhance your smartphone’s privacy and protect yourself is crucial. Even if you trust mobile apps with your data, your smartphone can know so much about you that hacking is always a risk. Mobile malware is no joke, and it can mess up both iOS and Android smartphones.
So if you haven’t done much to protect your smartphone, there’s no better time to act than right now. Delete old apps, update permissions, and install security-focused applications. If you want to learn more about safe browsing and how to maintain smartphone privacy, also read these articles:
- The 9 Best-Encrypted Messaging Apps for Total Privacy
- Top 5 Best and Most Secure Smartphones for Privacy
- iPhone vs Android Security: An In-Depth Comparison
Smartphone security and privacy are pretty complex topics. Below we give you the answers to the most frequently asked questions. All you have to do is click on a question, and the answer will be revealed.
Smartphones can definitely put your privacy at risk, especially if you’re not paying attention. Phones collect personal information like your location, browsing history, login credentials, medical data, and plenty more. If you’re not careful, apps and invasive third parties can mine this data or even put it at risk in case of a security breach.
You could argue mobile phones are intrinsically an invasion of privacy. It’s hard to use a phone without parting with crucial personal data. But it’s not impossible. And with a few security settings and privacy-oriented apps, you can keep your data more secure.
If you want more privacy on your smartphone, take a closer look at the apps you’re using. Uninstall old ones, update unnecessary permissions, and install privacy-minded apps like VPNs or encrypted messaging apps.
