Over the past two decades, the US has had over 4 billion breached accounts, ranking as the 1st country worldwide. The problem has become so widespread that people have lost millions to various cybercrimes. It would seem this evoked people’s actions to stay safe online. However, the reality is the opposite: even those who claim to be online privacy conscious still have some non-essential and data-hungry apps on their phones.
In fact, a recent survey and analysis by the cybersecurity company Surfshark reveals that those 41% who are highly concerned about their online privacy still use some data-hungry apps on their phones, especially Millennials.
Out of all people, Millennials are the most privacy-educated and privacy-conscious group. They are more aware of how companies collect and use their personal data, understand the risks of sharing information online, and are mindful about links shared on social media or messaging apps.
Overall, people in the 25-34 age group are the most privacy-policy-conscious: they significantly more often self-report that they review and adjust privacy settings on their devices and accounts (21% do it almost always), check app permissions before installing them on their phone (27% almost always), and read what data an app will collect before installing it (25% almost always).
Despite all of that, Millennials have significantly more apps that are data-hungry. People were asked which apps they have on their phones from a list of 48 popular apps, selected for their popularity and how data hungry they are. On average, these apps collect 21 unique data points, but some as many as 32 — nearly the maximum amount of 35. And some even share gathered information with third parties.
Millennials are significantly more likely than the overall sample to have at least one app of each category on their phones. For example:
- Over half (55%) of Millennials had at least one game app, compared to 42% of participants from the overall sample. This is concerning, as gaming apps are not necessary to use, just nice to have, and they collect a vast amount of data.
- Out of all generations, more Millennials had the Pokémon GO app, a game that collects precise and coarse location, than any other generation. This is significantly higher (19%) than the proportion of people who have this app in the overall sample (11%), as well as the highest proportion among all generation groups.
- A similar trend was noted regarding the app Candy Crush Saga, a mobile game which collects 16 unique data points, with significantly more Millennials having it on their phones, as well as the dating app Bumble, which collects 22 unique data points.
- Almost all Millennials use social media apps (98%). The least popular apps are AI & chatbots — only 39% have at least one of them.
What to do to change the privacy paradox?
According to a cybersecurity expert at Surfshark, Luís Costa, protecting yourself from data-hungry phone apps involves a variety of actions, for example:
- Reviewing app permissions before installing and granting only those permissions that are absolutely necessary for the app’s core functionality.
- Downloading apps only from trusted sources such as Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. Also, before installing anything, it is important to check app reviews and ratings.
- Updating apps and operating systems regularly helps to stay up to date with the newest security enhancements.
- Checking privacy settings on the phone and changing them to limit data collection. For example, you can disable location services or set them to be used only when the app is in use. Or turn off background data usage for apps that don't need continuous access.
- Enabling two-factor authentication for apps that offer this. It helps to enhance an extra layer of security for your personal logins.
Finally, only carefully choosing and managing your apps, you can better protect your privacy and keep your data safe.
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