Your mobile contains a lot of info, including financial information, contact information from your SIM card, and photos of you and your family members. As a result, you must be vigilant about the apps you put on your phone. As a result, it’s prudent to inquire, “Are apps safe?” Some of these programs may include malware, compromise your privacy, and waste resources such as your battery, among other things.
So, how do you know whether a mobile app is safe to install? Here’s a quick checklist for you to go over.
The App’s Origin
By far the safest way to find apps is to download them from respected app stores. Apps can be downloaded from an app store, side loaded through USB, or installed directly from an apk file.
You may encounter third-party programs even if you download from within an app store. Take your time learning about your source.
App Evaluations
App stores, such as Google Play, offer a review listing system that shows the most positive and negative ratings. This is useful for making quick decisions, even if you aren’t supposed to make them.
Before you download it, you should read over all of the bad reviews. If an app just has one star, why would you download it and allow it access to your smartphone.
Permissions for the App
Permissions are a mechanism for your operating system to prevent programs from accessing
certain parts of your personal data.
Some apps request permissions that are not logically part of their requirements. A Calendar, for example, will ask for permission to access your calendar data. When a calendar asks for permission to edit and delete SD card material, be cautious.
Before you download an app from the Google Play Store, make sure to read the permissions
requirements.
This information can be discovered by using the following search terms:
ï‚· Under the app’s description, tap the “Read more” option.
ï‚· Scroll to “App permissions” at the bottom of the page.
ï‚· “See more” can be tapped.
Google Play Safeguard
This is usually turned on by default. It’s Android’s counterpart of Microsoft’s Windows Defender. It examines apps in the background and when you download them, notifying you if they contain hazardous behavior.
It’s a fantastic early-warning system. Always check to see if it’s turned on.
Who is the creator?
Before you install an app, learn more about the developer and vendor. The developer is the one who creates the app, whereas the vendor is the person who sells it to the customer.
A lot of app stores have a link to the vendor’s website. This may be found at the bottom of the
app’s page in the Google Play store. Look them up in a search engine if there is no link or if the link is broken. It’s simple to find reputable app developers.
The following are some questions you can ask regarding app vendors:
ï‚· Is there a professional website for them?
ï‚· What is the company’s policy on privacy?
ï‚· What information is gathered and how is it used?
ï‚· What information does the advertiser have access to?
ï‚· What is the policy on personal information disclosure?
ï‚· Is the vendor’s security policy well-defined?
ï‚· Is there a simple way to reach you?
The application’s name
Do you remember when you had an iFhone instead of an iPhone? This nonsense also affects the apps.
On Google’s Play Store, there are a slew of impostor apps, most of which claim to accomplish the same thing or more than more well-known apps. For example, instead of WhatsApp, use WhatApp, and instead of Facebook, use Facebook.
Before you download that software, make sure you get all of your questions answered. If you’re looking for a certain program, be sure you know who made it and what the actual name is before you download it. WhatsApp will be the app’s developer. Twitter is going to be the developer. Telegram will be the developer of Telegram.
Numbers in Relation to the Application
You should keep track of how many times an app has been downloaded and how many app ratings it has. These figures serve as benchmarks for determining trustworthiness. If an application has been downloaded more than 10 million times, it is probably safe. Apps with a large number of downloads have been thoroughly tested and approved by users.
Another approach to tell if an app is secure is to look at its user ratings. Apps with low ratings should be avoided. If the download-to-rating ratio doesn’t add up, think twice about downloading the software.
Allowing an application to have unrestricted access to your personal information is the last thing you want to do. As a result, you should only download programs that have been thoroughly checked.
At last it can be said that if you’re not using an shopping app Bangladesh, uninstall it to avoid unwanted data collection.