In the advanced age of Information and technology, people are drawn to use computer and computer application. But the use of Mobile Application and development is even newer and rapidly growing sector. There is a global positive impact of mobile application. With mobile applications, developed countries are becoming facilitated and people of developing countries are upgrading themselves and coping with it gradually. Mobile applications are easy, running on a small hand hold devices like smart phones which are portable, convenient to use and accessible from anywhere and any place. These days so many people are using mobile application for communication, internet surfing, file content management, document creating and handling as well as entertainment. People could do many things starting from their daily lives to their and business lives.
The advanced Applications has an also benefited immensely to huge business companies that are earning revenue with these.
Mobile applications however, run in a mobile environment the usability of which depends on several factors such as: Screen resolution, Hardware limitations, Expensive Data Usage, Connectivity issues, Limited interaction possibilities etc. Since the last few years mobile companies are trying to develop mobile devices with better screen resolution, more storage, better connectivity which provide better environment for modern mobile applications. However, it is interesting to note here that, although these new fun ways of interaction, communication and entertainment are grabbing attention of huge masses, actually how safe they are in terms of data and information about us, the customers. Below let’s discuss about four major popular applications that we use in our everyday lives in our smart phones or PCs and look out for hoe secure they are in consumption of our data. WhatsApp’s new privacy policy has gotten the public worried but how much data does it collect in comparison to other messaging apps for instance Signal, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger? Well, it is a lot more as it turns out, as shown by the privacy labels of these messaging apps and as shown on Apple’s App Store. Both apps owned by Facebook i.e. Messenger and WhatsApp do collect usage data and location details, unlike other apps. While in contrast, Signal seems to be the most private messaging app and doesn’t collect any of the user data, as per the privacy details highlighted on the App Store but the previous two do. Probably, obviously given this fact, Facebook before criticised about Apple’s move to show privacy labels.
According to the details available on the App Store Facebook Messenger acts the most acquisitive when it comes to user data collection, followed by WhatsApp. The data details that both these apps collect includes users’ financial information, purchase history, location details, contact information such as phone number, email address, and usage data. At a time when people are expressing worries about WhatsApp’s new privacy policy changes, that directs you to accept it or your account will be deleted, it’s out of the ordinary to note all the data that the application, which has 400 million users in India alone, is collecting. Well, if you have an iPhone, you can see such details on the App Store yourself. Below are the details of all the data that these apps are collecting of a customer.
Applications | SignalApp | Telegram App | Facebook App | |
Data that each Apps Collect | Device ID User ID Advertising Data Purchase History Coarse Location Phone Number Email Address Contacts Product Interaction Crash Data Performance Data Other Diagnostic Data Payment Info Customer Support Product Interaction Other User Content
| No data at all. (The only personal data Signal stores is your phone number, and it makes no attempt to link that to your identity.)
| Contact Info. Contacts User ID info.
| Purchase History Other Financial Info Precise Location Coarse Location Physical Address Email Address Name and Phone Number Other User Contact Info Contacts Photos or Videos Game play Content Other User Content Search History Browsing History User ID Device ID Product Interaction Advertising Data Other Usage Data Crash Data Performance Data Other Diagnostic Data Other Data Types Browsing History Health Fitness Payment Info Photos or Videos Audio Data Gameplay Content Customer Support Other User Content Search History Sensitive Info iMessage Email address Phone number Search history Device ID
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