What Apps Collect About You—and How to Control It
Apps collect far more data than you realize. Learn what they're gathering and practical steps to protect your privacy.
# What Apps Collect About You—and How to Control It
Websites and apps use different technologies to collect information about what you do online. But what exactly are they gathering, and more importantly, what can you do about it?
What Data Are Apps Really Collecting?
Some apps may ask for access to information from your device, like your location, your contacts, or your photos. Given the right permissions, some apps may be able to access your photo library, record and livestream audio and video, access your location in real time, read, receive, and send text messages, access your health data from paired fitness trackers, read and edit your contact list, and read, create, edit, or delete calendar events.
The tracking goes deeper than just permissions. When you use an app on your smartphone, advertisers may use a unique advertising identifier to track you. Many apps collect device's unique identifiers (like Google's 'advertising ID' or 'Android ID' or even someone's location or email) and send them to third party marketing companies that analyze the data, combine it with data about the user from other sources, and deliver 'insights' about the user.
For teens specifically, the numbers are alarming. By the time a child is 13, online advertising firms have collected an average of 72 million data points about that individual. More than two thirds of apps on iPhones were sending personal information to the advertising industry, and it was an even higher number — 79% — on Android phones.
Why Should You Care?
The data collected can reveal sensitive information, such as communications with contacts, search queries about health conditions, political interests, and other affiliations, as well as other highly personal information, and this data also may be shared with third parties, for example, to send consumers behaviorally targeted advertisements.
Real-world cases show the risk. The FTC said that the makers of the Flo app shared users' personal health information with marketing and analytics companies like Facebook and Google — even though it had promised users to keep this sensitive information private.