Smartphones are not privacy-friendly

Most people use a smartphone these days to go online. It is no secret that mobile phones are far from being privacy-friendly. Of course, you can install privacy-enhancing apps to protect yourself better. Many of the reviews elsewhere on this website also have a mobile version, so making use of these solutions will improve your online security. But with mobile communications, these are not sufficient to guarantee your device’s security. So let us take a closer look at some mobile security best practices.

A user has little control over his mobile device

In general, mobile phones allow less control by the user than a computer. For example, you will have to go through a rather technical procedure if you ever plan to replace the operating system on your mobile device. Malware nestles in more easily through bundled software. Your mobile operator tracks how you use your smartphone. And your device manufacturer may stop providing security fixes and updates because they want to market their newest product.

Location tracking poses a privacy threat

One of the most substantial privacy leaks is because of location tracking. The signals your mobile phone broadcasts, expose your whereabouts. Each mobile network operator can determine a subscriber`s phone location when it is powered on. The accuracy can vary from the level of an apartment block to an even more exact position. It depends mainly on how many cell towers the operator has in a specific area. This kind of location tracking stored on the mobile device you can not switch off.

Exchange of your location data

Under normal circumstances, only the mobile operator can track your phone. Still, you can imagine the privacy risk when a government deems it necessary to force the operator to turn over your location data. For commercial purposes, mobile carriers also exchange data among each other when a mobile device is connecting to a network; this data collection tends to be less accurate, though.

Tracing of wireless signals by MAC addresses

As smartphones also can transmit data by Wi-fi and Bluetooth, these wireless signals can be received and intercepted, but within a short distance range, mainly within the same building. Each of these signals has a unique serial device number, a MAC address. Whenever your turn on Wi-fi or Bluetooth – even when not transmitting data – this exposes the MAC address so that others can recognize a specific mobile device. Commercial tracking applications trace this to retrieve statistics about visits and the duration of these visits in a shop, for example.

Restriction of location sharing as one of the mobile security best practices

Mobile apps can also request a mobile phone for its location. Often this happens by using a GPS – Global Positioning System. Some apps transmit your location to your mobile network provider, which creates another vulnerability to track you. On some smartphones, you can control if apps can or can not access your location information. So one of the mobile security best practices is to restrict this information exchange to a minimum.

The risk of connecting to public Wi-fi networks

Public Wi-fi networks pose another risk in exposing your online private data. Mobile devices are as secure as the network through which they transmit data. These public hotspots share their passwords most of the time upon s simple request. As such they are an open invitation for malicious interception of communication between devices. Still, many people do not care to secure their connection when making use of public networks to keep their data safe.

Many mobile security best practices to implement easily

There are relatively easy security solutions to encrypt your mobile communication, which brings us to the next set of mobile security best practices. Use a VPN – Virtual Private Network program while outside and relying on public Wi-fi. And protect your online data transmission with encryption when you are sending out emails, and documents, and even while chatting. Multifactor authentication, when accessing the web, is a healthy privacy option, too; it combines a password credential with a confirmation code sent to your smartphone. Also, consider to use a password manager to further enhance your application security. 

Revise your app permissions for potential security risks

Whenever you download and install an app on your smartphone, it is necessary to grant permission. That is another significant compromise to your digital privacy. Revising individual permissions on apps is possible on both iOS and Android mobile devices, and is a good mobile application management practice. There is no need to give apps complete access to your online personal information. It could open the door to uploading all of your contacts to a spam list or to selling your recorded voice messages to advertisers so they can build your profile.

Opt for third-party blocking browsers

Social media and browser tracking come at a cost to your online privacy and data security as well. As Google developed the Chrome and Android OS (Operating System), all your browser activity and social media interactions get registered to build your profile automatic. Fortunately, many browser alternatives block third-party tracking by default – more security tips on that in other posts.

Ways to protect your physical device

There is also the physical device protection to take into consideration. Unprotected mobiles or when a device is lost or stolen pose another privacy threat. To prevent personal data collection, you can help secure your device with a password, PIN code, and even biometrics. Recent smartphones provide a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition for user authentication. Other security measures are remote lock and data wipe to delete sensitive information.

Install anti-malware to prevent mobile ad fraud

As a lot of money is made with mobile advertising, it should come as no surprise cyber criminals have many ways of cashing in on mobile ad revenue. Most of the time, malware programs appearing to come from a legitimate source generate fraudulent clicks on ads. The legit advertisers lose income, and the mobile user is confronted with either a slower phone performance, higher data charges, and even battery drainage and overheating. Cryptojacking is the latest trend in this segment; your mobile phone is used to mine cryptocurrency without your consent. To protect yourself from mobile ad fraud, you better install anti-virus and anti-malware software on your mobile devices.

Stay aware of your personal data collection

While location tracking remains a problematic issue when talking about smartphones, there are many mobile security best practices to follow. Part of the online privacy breaches is inherent to the usage of modern mobile devices. But knowing what personal data your mobile operator, websites, apps, and advertisers are collecting should help you to protect your digital footprint.