Apps and internet enabled apps
Last updated
Last updated
Do not trust emails asking for personal information, survey data, or anything else that could reveal information about you, no matter how professional it looks
The vast majority of websites do not need your personal data to provide their services, so be suspicious if they ask for it (besides, who cares what they want? It's not your responsibility to give them anything). If you think the request is legitimate, do not follow their supplied link: you should be able to do whatever you have to do by navigating their website in your browser. If you can't, they clearly have poor security practices and you should be suspicious of them in general!
All of the following apply to you, any children you may have or anyone your abuser knows that could know your location.
Generally, most instant messaging apps (such as Skype or Viber) are not entirely safe. They store your data and have not been designed with user privacy in min. WhatsApp messages are now encrypted but metadata about who you chat with and for how long is collected and stored.
There are more secure alternatives - such as Signal, Pidgin, Jitsi (secure video chat for Microsoft/Linux), Tor Messenger if you need anonymity. You should consider using them instead of the more popular apps.
Here you can compare the security of the available messaging apps.
However, you can also take certain steps to ensure greater security and privacy while using more “traditional” apps.
We’ve covered some of these applications in the sections above but here are some others that are easy to overlook. You can find exhaustive safety information for your mobile phone under Section 1: “Your Devices” above.
VULNERABILITIES
Google logs your movements via your smartphone while it is running Google Maps
Android is always logging your location\/movements
Your movements can be accessed by anyone who has your password
WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
Disable Google Maps
Never sign into your Google account when using Google maps
Change your password
Delete your location history.
Here’s how
View your location history using Google’s web page.
Set a time period to view — up to 30 days at a time.
Select the period you want to delete.
Click the “Delete history from this time period” link on the left side of this page.
If you have multiple Google accounts, check the history for each one.
Go to the Settings app.
Scroll down and tap on the Location section.
Tap Google Location Reporting.
Switch Location History to “off.”
Note: For greater privacy, you can also turn off Location Reporting, but this will keep apps like Google Maps from working properly.
Open the Settings app.
Scroll down to Privacy, and select Location Services.
Disable all Location Services by setting the top slider to “off” — or scroll down to disable specific apps one by one, such as Google Maps.
VULNERABILITIES
Location
Sensitive information
Password
Logging in on an untrusted device/PC/laptop
WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
Use app like SpiderOak, Peerio or Onionshare which offer extremely secure file sharing
Change your passwords for all your cloud service apps
Never log in at an untrusted PC/laptop/phone
VULNERABILITIES
Public Wi-Fi hotspots are extremely easy to infiltrate
WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
Use a VPN (see References) when connecting to a public hotspot
VULNERABILITIES
Uses GPS location trackingEnables “friends” who also use the app to see where you exercise outdoors
WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
Disable location settingsDisable what friends can see on the app
