Have you ever thought that a particular app can steal your data? Does that make you feel insecure about downloading particular applications? A recent research has confirmed that some Android applications do collect data from their users.
This breach of conduct and reliance has been previously found in many apps. If you think that it happens with the app wrongfully asking for access to your microphone, that’s not completely the case. They generally do so by trying to record your screen as you use it.
Christo Wilson, an associate professor of computer science at the Northeastern University, reveals that while granting access to the phone we are explicitly granting access to our phone screen. Thus, the app starts to own the screen and can do whatever it wishes to.
Many apps while gaining access to user’s data notify them in advance and ask for permission. But there are many such apps that do not ask for consent while taking access of your important and personal data. Wilson has noticed two apps which have been persistently gaining access to your data behind your back. Such two apps have been GoPuff and Prisma Photo Editor.
GoPuff is an app that has been used for performing daily tasks to ease the human life like bringing laundry to your doorstep, delivering pizzas and many other activities. While you have been taking benefit of the app, it has consistently been participating in illegal stealing of your data. The app takes the means of screen recording to get hold of your personal data.
Aria Bracci quotes Wilson saying, “Everything you did in the app: searches you made, things you added to your cart, and then during the checkout, some things like zip code were getting recorded—although not the credit card number, thankfully.”
Another app that has been snitching your data while you were busy using its photo editing filters is Prisma Photo Editor. They have been putting these photos up on remote servers. Wilson is concerned about the intimate photos getting leaked and want to create an awareness among people about this issue.
Subarna Basu