Installing mobile apps – privacy, permissions and other stuff you need to know

We take a look at some important concerns when it comes to installing mobile apps on your smartphone and tablet devices.

The rumours about the Facebook Messenger app and the privacy concerns it caused amongst users has highlighted some important privacy issues regarding mobile apps.

The recent confusion with the privacy & permission concerns regarding the Facebook Messenger app stems from the fact that smartphone software platforms like Android will give an app full control of a specific feature on the phone despite the app only requiring a small, innocuous and often brief part of that feature to function correctly.

To further that problem, platforms like Android then word the relevant permissions to reflect the most invasive possible scenario, which often doesn’t accurately reflect the intentions of the app.

In fact the permissions given to an app hardly ever reflect the actual intentions of the app.

This in turn results in what appears to be some rather intrusive and alarming sounding permissions, even on apps that are perfectly harmless.

With this said, it is – of course – always recommended to be completely aware of the permissions you are giving an app before you install it. But the point is – solely relying on the permissions of an app is not an effective way of determining whether you should (or should not) install it.

So how do you decide which apps are safe and which are suspicious?

The key issue here is whether the end user can trust the developer of an app, and this is largely down to the end user themselves, their outlook and how cautious they are.

Reputation…

Trust between a developer and end user can be created in different ways. More commonly the developer’s reputation will play a big part. Zynga, for example, are a trusted developer of mobile games and users are happy to trust their reputation alone.

Legal assurances…

“Terms of Service” type literature can provide trust as well. Companies like Facebook for example, who many distrust based on their history, will often produce legal copy such as a ToS that clearly explains what they can and cannot do with their applications on your phone, thus providing peace of mind to the end user (possibly).

Research…

Another effective way of building trust is through research and feedback from other users. Popular app download sites like Google Play and the Apple App Store (which we recommend sticking to when downloading apps as they have a vetting process) both have methods of allowing customers to leave feedback about apps. Of course, the most positive reviews present the more likely the developer and app can be trusted.

Ultimately, when you decide what apps you want to install, bear in mind that permissions, whilst important to know, are a pretty ineffective method of determining the legitimacy of an application. Using the above methods to determine the trustworthiness of an app is much more effective, and if that trust cannot be established then, in that case, a user is recommended to avoid installing the app.

And as we stated previously, a lot of this can depend on the end user themselves. Facebook for example, will be distrusted by many despite the assurances in their terms of service.

On a sidenote it is certainly worth mentioning that many apps will, to some extent, record some personal information about you and use that information to target adverts at you. It’s part of the trade-off for the app being free to use. It is up to the end user to determine exactly what information is taken, if they are happy with it or not, and whether or not they can trust the developer to use their information responsibly.

And remember, if the answer is no, then just don’t install the app.