5 Ways to Stay Safe When Downloading Smartphone Apps
Everyone uses apps on their phones—even phoning someone requires you to use an app! Whether we want to shop, game, get in touch with friends, work on-the-go, or anything else, there’s likely an app out there that can help. But with so many apps available, you need to be careful about what you’re downloading on your devices. So, how can you stay safe when downloading apps?
1. Only Use Legitimate App Stores
The most popular app stores out there today include the Apple Store, Google Play, and Samsung Galaxy Store. There are millions of apps on these platforms spanning across a wide range of genres, so you likely won’t find yourself short of choice, regardless of what you’re looking for.
However, there may be an app you’re interested in that can only be downloaded from a website or app store that you’re not familiar with. While this doesn’t outright indicate an impending scam or attack, cybercriminals do use apps to spread malware, often through third-party app stores and websites.
Some of these platforms have little to no security protocols, and don’t verify the safety of the apps they list. And some cybercriminals create websites specifically to spread malware through app downloads.
But it’s also important to note thatmalicious apps can make their way onto the most popular and trusted stores. While these platforms do what they can to detect and remove shady apps, the time between an app’s launch and its eventual removal can span from days to months or years, giving it the ability to infect thousands or millions of devices.
2. Take Note of Permissions
Many apps you download will request that you grant them certain permissions on your device. Maybe an app needs to use your camera to take photos, access your gallery to edit media, or use your contact list when you make phone calls.
Examples of common permissions include access to:
While a lot of apps simply need to be granted these permissions to do their job, others will use this access to exploit you. For instance, a malicious app may ask for access to your emails or texts, wherein valuable data can be extracted. Oran app may ask for your location, and then use it to track you without your knowledge.
So, whenever something asks to be granted any kind of permission, make sure that the app itself can be trusted, andthe permissions included are not putting you at risk. Access to your camera, microphone, browsing history, and contacts are all examples of potentially dangerous permissions you may be asked to allow.
3. Check the Reviews
Whether you’re buying a pair of shoes, choosing an antivirus program, or downloading an app, reviews are worth a look.
Luckily, a lot of popular app stores allow users to review whatever they install, to either show others what they can look forward to, or warn them of possible issues. These reviews can play a crucial role in the kind of apps you give access to your device, so it’s important that you always check them before clicking the installation button.
If an app has mostly negative reviews, this may be because it is badly designed, but could also be down to how it manages data, uses battery, accesses permissions, or similar. These should all be considered red flags, and may indicate a shady or malicious app.
You can also search for app reviews using your web browser if the app store review page is lacking.
But even if an app has mostly positive reviews, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is totally safe. Some app developers are good at hiding illicit activity, and it can take a long time for cybersecurity experts to notice that something is wrong. Don’t solely rely on reviews to determine whether an app is safe. Use some of the other methods listed here, too.
4. Check the Download Number
The most commonly used apps out there—such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube—have incredibly high download numbers, sometimes in the billions. But not every app is going to be at this level. There are plenty of safe and useful apps that haven’t had many downloads as they are new or simply not well-known, but this can also indicate danger.
If an app hasn’t been thoroughly reviewed by a large number of users, it’s hard to know how it is going to behave once you’ve installed it on your device. So, if you’re interested in a particular app, but it has barely been installed or reviewed, consider leaving it another few weeks and checking back when it’s amassed more users.
5. Monitor Your Device’s Behavior
If you download an app, and then notice that your device is acting strangely, you may be dealing with something malicious. Malicious apps don’t always have symptoms, but when they do, they can come in a number of different forms.
For example, if yourbattery is starting to drain a lot quicker than usualafter you download a given app, this may be because the app has deployed a malware program that is running on your device, such as spyware. Some malware programs need to be active constantly to do their job, which can drain your battery.
Additionally, a malicious app may cause your device’s performance to degrade, or lead to frequent freezes and crashes. Again, if this has only started occurring after you downloaded a certain app, then the app itself may need to blame.
Note that not all battery- or performance-heavy apps are malicious. Some apps, such as those that need to be active in the background at all times, can also require a lot of power. Examples of such apps include step trackers and VPNs.
Protect Yourself When Downloading Software
Whether you’re looking for a new shopping app, want to try another social media platform, or simply intend to browse through the app store, it’s important that you’re aware of the signs of suspicious and malicious apps to avoid data theft, activity monitoring, and other dangerous possibilities.
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