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UNWANTED PERMISSIONS TAKEN BY APPS
Data Privacy has become a big challenge for all of us. Almost every Application is tracking and monitoring our activities. The recent trending Russian app #Faceapp is highly dangerous when it comes to their terms and conditions. Giant companies such as Facebook, Google are selling our data to third parties. Governments have no concern about our data privacy.
Take a look at the picture above. Apps like Hotstar take permission of even our "body sensors". Is Hotstar a fitness app? Absolutely NOT! Still apps are taking unnecessary permissions to get our data, activities, and interests etc to make money.
It is time to take actions against such companies & their apps by passing the draft "Personal Data Protection Bill" in Parliament of India because it is much required.
All companies have data, such as personnel files, customer data, product information, financial transactions, etc. Decisions management makes are based on this data as are the work processes followed by employees to deliver quality products and services. In fact, data is one of the most important assets a company has. For that reason alone, data protection should be a top priority for any company. This includes guarding the availability of the data to employees who need it, the integrity of the data (keeping it correct and up-to-date) and the confidentiality of the data (the assurance that it is available only to people who are authorized).
Everything we do online reveals small pieces of our real existence. We enter our name, first names, last names, home address in a multitude of forms along with contact numbers, information on past education and employment. We search for information about articles we are interested in, we buy online and we enter all kinds of information and opinions on social media. All websites where we enter this data get to know very small parts of us.
There are companies linking together all of those little bit information about us that we have entered in various websites over the years. This data leads to a very detailed personal profile, which greatly helps to personalize direct marketing very specifically to us. This way advertising can be directed to the products and services we have thought about, slowly nudging us and seducing us into a purchase. More dangerous is that such a profile can also be used for political purposes. History has taught us that detailed knowledge of people’s ethnic background and political or religious beliefs can, in the wrong hands, literally be life-threatening.
Another application of online profiles is the search profile Google uses to personalize our search results. Using the search history and the list of cookies on our device, combined with our geographical location and other information they have on us, Google will try to predict which information we want to see. That is why, when looking for information about Netherlands, some people will get information about holiday destinations, and others information about the political and economic situation in the country. Personal Data Protection is much required to protect our Data Privacy.
What can we do to prevent ourselves?
- We should avoid installing new and untrusted apps without reading their terms, policies and permissions.
- Always use security software such as Antiviruses on our devices to protect ourselves from latest threats.
- We should protect our accounts with strong, unique passwords that contain a combination of at least 10 uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers. Never write them down, not even in a password protected file.
- We should not write all our details and important information on social media.
- To minimize our online profile, we should never enter any personal information in a web form which is not relevant for our purpose.
- Think carefully before you click on random links or open unsolicited messages and attachments because it could be a trap such as “Phishing Page” or “Spyware”.
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