For many of us, our phones contain a graveyard of little-used, forgotten apps — and they can pose a major security risk, according to cybersecurity experts.
The average American has about 80 apps downloaded on their phone at all times, and it’s likely there are at least a few of them that you don’t use anymore. If you want to make your personal information a little more secure, you ought to delete those unnecessary apps ASAP.
“Most people don’t realize that a lot of apps come by default with a lot of pretty expansive and comprehensive and exhaustive permissions. Very few people read the full terms and conditions,” said George Kamide, co-host of the cybersecurity podcast “Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks.”
He explained that many people often enable the app to know where they are located or to refresh background data when it is not being used.
“The issue is that [people] have an implicit trust that their best interests are being looked out for by the makers of the apps that they use,” said Adam Arellano, a field chief technology officer for Harness, a company that helps software developers write secure code more quickly.
