How risky is it to install “entertaining” apps?

Every once in a while, one of those “fun & entertaining” mobile or social media apps spreads virally across cyberspace, giving everyone who installed it a few amusing moments before inevitably finding itself the latest addition to a growing list of forgotten fads.

In some circumstances, those apps become so prolific that they serve to highlight important privacy concerns when it comes to installing and running apps from developers that you do not know, or may not trust.

When we install software from developers such as Adobe, Microsoft or Google for example, we do so in the knowledge that we should be able to trust those developers to handle our information responsibly, stick to their data policies and not infect us with malware.

However, when it comes to apps that promise us a few moments of entertainment, such as photo altering apps or personality quiz apps, we often don’t know the developer or don’t even think to check.

We may often check in on reviews, such as the reviews we see in the Google Play and Apple store. However reviews can often be fake. Poor quality, even dangerous apps often make it past Google and Apple’s vetting process. Additionally, those vetting processes and reviews are more geared towards detecting and reporting malware than they are about checking up on how those developers will treat your information. And despite Facebook’s checkered history with Facebook apps, the same can be said about them as well.

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As such, installing any app – be in on your phone or social media account – without any sort of due diligence and research on the developer behind the app can put your security and privacy at risk. Apps will require certain access to your information and functions on your device or social media account to work. While in most cases the device or social media account will ask you to explicitly grant said permissions when you install the app, many users will flippantly grant the permissions in search of those few moments of fun, without thinking twice.

But in doing so, the user may be unaware that the developers behind the app are being handed over information about you, and the user may not appreciate or understand the serious privacy consequences that this can lead to.

While many apps out there are legitimate and treat your information responsibly, many apps are risky. For example, implementing poor security habits that could lead to your data being leaked, holding onto your data for longer than necessary, selling your information to third parties, using your data to track your surfing habits, or at the more sinister end of the spectrum, the app could be used to install malware, initiate a phishing attack or be used to commit identity fraud.

Real life examples include the personality quiz apps on Facebook that were selling personal information to political analysis companies in order to expose those users to political ads. Or the 210 gaming apps that had to be removed from Google Play because the contained adware malware. Or the Google Play app that promised to boost your Instagram followers which was actually trying to phish your Instagram login details.

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All of this means there is a significant risk to installing any app where the developer is not known or trusted. This includes fun and entertaining apps that typically require information from the user to work correctly.

We could, consequently, offer the blanket advice of simply never installing such apps, or never installing apps from developers you do not know. But in an environment where mobile and social media apps are incredibly popular, this advice may not be realistic for everyone, and perhaps unfair on the many legitimate developers out there that are not as well-known as Adobe, Microsoft or Google.

So instead, if you interested in installing these apps, we offer some tips on limiting some of the risks.

– Only install apps from trusted sources. For mobile apps, this means the Play or Apple stores.

– Research the developer. You can read reviews on the app itself, but also Google the developer and see if they have a website. On that website you can check out their privacy policy which outlines what information they require and how they treat that information, as well as see what other apps they operate. You can also look out for contact details such as a physical address and email address. Developers that lack a website, privacy policy or contact information shouldn’t be trusted.

– Always check the permissions when you install an app so you know what they will (or can) obtain once you install them. If they’re asking for too many permissions, don’t install it.

– Remove the app once you’re done. Entertaining apps usually only provide fleeting fun. There is little reason to keep them installed once you’ve used them.

– Consider using an app for scanning for malware. AVG offer good apps for Android devices, for example. These can scam for potential malware threats.

Ultimately it is up for each person to decide on how much due diligence they do and risk they’re willing to take when installing an app. But it is important to know that there is always a risk when you install an app from a developer you don’t really know. You can limit those risks by following the tips above, but you can never really eliminate them completely. When you install an app, you are letting someone else run their software on your device or account, and that is an inherently risky thing to do.