What Apps Collect About You & How to Control It
Apps track your location, photos, contacts, and more. Learn what data they collect and how to take control of your privacy.
# What Apps Collect About You & How to Control It
The Data Collection Reality
Websites and apps use different technologies to collect information about what you do online. But the scope is bigger than you might think. 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.
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.
What Apps Actually Collect
Apps request permission to access specific data on your phone. App permissions are a set of controls found on your computer and mobile device that allow a user to define what categories of data an app can access. 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 Short Message Service (SMS) text messages. Access your health data from paired fitness trackers. Read and edit your contact list. Read, create, edit, or delete calendar events. Access your files, media, and photos stored on your phone's memory.
When you use an app on your smartphone, advertisers may use a unique advertising identifier to track you. This tracking happens even when you're not actively using the app.
Why Companies Want Your Data
Companies might collect your data to save your preferences and information, like your username or things you left in your shopping cart, show you personalized content like local weather and stories about topics you're interested in, or gather analytics about your visit to a website, like the pages you visited, how much time you spent on the site, and the type of device and browser you used.
But there's a darker side: This data also may be shared with third parties, for example, to send consumers behaviorally targeted advertisements.