Your data is important to you but also to companies. Apps may sell your data and build detailed profiles about you and your preferences.
How do you resist this stereotypical approach and reclaim your privacy? You need to delete the apps that are sucking up your personal information. This includes completely getting rid of your accounts and requesting that your private data be deleted.
Many apps collect large amounts of personal data without users even realizing it. From geographic locations to browsing habits, this information is collected and analyzed for a variety of purposes. By identifying which apps consume the most personal data and removing them from your devices, you can better protect your privacy and enjoy a safer and more comfortable digital experience. Check out Protecting Your Online Privacy: The Secret to an Anonymous Internet.
1. TikTok
We’ll start with the most obvious option. Everyone knows that TikTok collects a lot of information about its users. However, it has been reported that Business of Apps It still has 1.5 billion monthly active users.
Want to know how much it knows? You can download all the data TikTok has about you, including your biometrics, financial information, clipboard contents, and private messages. After that, you’ll definitely want to delete it from your app list!
2. Facebook
Likewise, few users will be shocked to hear that Facebook has a huge repository of data on you. That includes whether you use Messenger. And even if you don’t have a Facebook account, Meta, the parent company (which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp), has a hidden profile on you.
So what’s the point of deleting your account? It’s about limiting the damage. Without a personal account, friends can’t tag you in photos or posts; you’re no longer willingly offering up a list of everything you’ve liked; and you lose personal identifiers, so you become part of a demographic, not a specific individual.
3. Discord
Fewer people knew what Discord was collecting about its users. But soon, many learned that the server-based service was collecting data sent through chats, including the contents of messages and photos. Many users began accusing Discord of being a spy app.
It's not as bad as you might expect. Discord can share data with similar apps like Twitch so they work side-by-side, but it doesn't appear to be selling personal information.
However, anything shared with the servers is owned by Discord and the service can detect any games you're playing on your device.
4. YouTube
Creating a YouTube account is helpful but not necessary. Either way, the website and app can feed off your browsing history, but deleting your account could mean YouTube knows less about you.
The video sharing platform is owned by Google and we all know how much Google is involved. Your viewing history and comments are collected and combined with all of its other services, the internet giant can create an accurate digital representation of you. Check out the most Google privacy settings you should consider changing.
5. Shopping on Amazon
Think about how much Amazon knows about you. Based on your shopping history alone, the service can infer a lot about you, your friendships, your relationships, your location, and more. Not to mention your photos, videos, and audio recordings.
You’ve probably seen ads from Amazon on social media recommending something you’ve looked at or talked about. There’s debate about whether or not your smartphone is listening to you, but either way, the idea definitely makes you feel uncomfortable.
You can still use Amazon in your web browser, but deleting the app means it has less control over you — and it could save you some money!
6. Wish
Of course, Amazon isn’t the only shopping service that has a massive amount of information about its users. Wish, a cheap e-commerce platform, boasts that it offers a “leading mobile shopping app,” meaning it holds a lot of data on millions of customers.
She seems to be proud of this hunger for information; on About Us Page For Wish, she enthuses, “The more you browse and buy, the more great recommendations you get!”
These recommendations are based on your purchase and browsing history, your geographic location, and any interactions you have with products on the Service. Check out AI and Privacy Risks: Protecting Your Data in an Automated World.
7. PayPal
We only use PayPal to pay for goods and services, and to get paid. You might think that's relatively harmless. But when the lending company, OnDeckBy investigating data collected by 200 business apps, they found that PayPal collected more data than any other financial app they reviewed.
PayPal obviously has your contact details, payment information and transaction history. Additionally, it states: His Privacy Statement However, “we may draw inferences that reflect your behavior patterns, personal preferences, browsing and purchasing habits, and creditworthiness.”
8. DoorDash
Inferences are very important. Most apps can only build a rough picture of who you are by making inferences based on how you use the platform. Let’s say you eat takeout a few times a week: From this, the app can assume that you work long hours and don’t have time to cook. It could also mean that you’re wealthy. This is useful for advertisers to know.
in privacy policyDoorDash acknowledges making inferences about “your preferences, characteristics, psychological tendencies, aptitudes, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, and abilities.”
This probably won’t surprise you. You probably won’t be shocked to learn that it collects more of your browsing and purchase history and shares that information with third parties it associates with. However, you might wonder why DoorDash collects “sensory” details like “audio, electronics, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.”
9. Tinder
Dating is all about opening up to someone. But with dating apps, you may be more open than you think. Think about everything in your profile, including usage, location, and facial information.
Tinder’s parent company is Match Group, which owns similar apps like Hinge, Plenty of Fish, Match, OKCupid, and The League. So even if you only use one of those services, your personal data could be shared between other services — not to mention any other accounts you link to, like Instagram and Spotify. Dating services are one type of app you should avoid if you’re concerned about privacy.
Match Group retains some data after you delete your account (i.e. anything legally required), but otherwise says it deletes private data. That’s great news: Why not take advantage of their offer to delete Tinder permanently? Check out how cybercriminals are using AI for romance and dating scams.
10. Airbnb
You have an Airbnb profile, whether you're renting out your own space or just looking for places to stay while on vacation. Behind the scenes, Airbnb collects more personal details than you might know.
Airbnb collects: any messages shared on the platform, photos and videos uploaded, interests (apparently to give people something to chat about when they first talk), educational information, places you've visited, browsing history, wish list data, and anything weird you've added like a “fun fact” or “most useless skill.”
Whether it’s Airbnb or Facebook, these apps on your phone give you more personalization. But is it really worth handing over all that private data? Now read up on data ethics: the code of conduct every data scientist should follow.
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