6 iPhone Apps Security Experts Warn You Should Never Download Because They Put Your Safety In Danger: Facebook, Snapchat & More

June 26, 2024 by Lisa Cupido

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We’ve got some bad news. If you’re downloading apps — any apps — there’s a chance those apps are accessing your data in ways you don’t love. The best way to keep yourself safe is by reading reviews for every app before you download it, while also reviewing their permissions requests so that you can get a sense of what kind of data they want from you and what they plan to do with your data (though many aren’t transparent about that last part).

Of course there will always be some apps that more notorious for their data-snatching, data-selling behaviors than others. These six iPhone apps have made a name for themselves as suspicious offenders when it comes to neglecting your privacy and security needs. Avoid downloading them to help keep yourself as private as possible.

Facebook

Facebook collects SO much data on you, including your engagements (what you like and comment on), usage, personal account information, info about your device, such as its location, and information about the other sites you visit.

Snapchat

You’ll notice a lot of social media app on this list, and for good reason (you will wind up providing them more data than you think). Snapchat collects personal information, info from your photos and videos, including your location, and info about your activity across its third-party services that use cookies.

TikTok

TikTok is a big offender when it comes to collecting data. Among the info it collects: personal information, your IP address and operating system, your browsing and search history on TikTok, what you like and don’t like, and even your keystroke patterns.

Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger famously doesn’t use end-to-end encryption, which means your private messages may be stored on their servers — not exactly a comforting thought. Deleting Messenger and switching to a more secure messaging app like Signal, which is encrypted, is a wise move.

Weather Apps

Is there a need for additional weather apps in the world, when the one built into your iPhone probably suffices? Depends on who you ask — and whether that person prefers a weather app with cooler features. But the problem with weather apps is that they need your location to function, and some also use your location to send you location-based advertising.

Multi-Player Games

Multi-player games are a great deal of fun. But many of them, including Words With Friends and FarmVille, collect ridiculous amounts of data that include your contact, contents of chats, your Facebook ID, your location, and more. Is it worth sacrificing your privacy for a little online fun? That’s something you’ll have to decide, but there’s no doubt that deleting these apps will help keep you more private and secure.

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