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It can feel like a major invasion if privacy — but many apps are actually sharing your data without your knowledge.
Free apps are big culprits when it comes to this type of sharing, as it provides a way for them to make revenue from advertisers (remember: free apps aren’t really free).
Before you go deleting the Facebook app, which has been found guilty of this type of data sharing, there are other apps that deserve your attention. Apple store employees hate this app because it shares your data.
A number of apps are tracking your location — your every step. Though it sounds sinister at first, many apps (like navigation and weather apps) can’t function properly unless they have access to your location.
Unfortunately, some of those apps take advantage of your data.
According to Tech Times, several apps — including weather apps — have been found guilty of selling users’ data to third-party businesses.
Apple is generally better at filtering out apps that sell your data than Android. But the New York Times discovered that many sell your data, including one that stood out: WeatherBug.
Before you get too angry, WeatherBug, and similar apps that sell your data, are adamant about one thing: the choice to let them share your data is ultimately in your hands.
“It turned out that WeatherBug, an app for iOS users, shared location information to 40 firms, with some of which said the data were ‘inappropriate’ or ‘unsolicited,’” reports Tech Times. “GroundTruth, which owns the app, said it asks the permission of the users to share their location to companies for personalized ads.”
For every privacy problem, there’s usually a solution (at least in this instance). To stop apps from sharing your data, go to Settings > Privacy. Tap on Location Services and go through individual apps, toggling to Never for those that you never want to have access to your location (others, like navigation and weather apps) can be set so that they only access your whereabouts when you are using them.
