Be careful about the permissions you grant to apps
Original article publication date : 28.01.2025
On Data Privacy Day, let's highlight the importance of limiting the data you transmit to your phone's apps. Indeed, pressing "authorize" without paying attention to what you validate can lead to risks.
According to the latest figures from the GSM Association, more than half of the world's population owns a smartphone, or more than 4.6 billion people. With this observation, the question of the protection of personal data and its collection, particularly by applications, arises. Let's take a look at this issue on Data Privacy Day.
Requests not always necessary
Before installing or using an app, you are asked to allow access to certain information, such as your photos or your geolocation. Cybersecurity researchers at NordVPN analyzed the permissions claimed for the five most popular apps in 18 categories and found that "87% of Android apps and 60% of iOS apps requested permissions that were not necessary for them to work."
Differences can be observed depending on the operating system. "On Android, social networking, messaging, browsing, business and dating apps require the most permissions on average. When it comes to unwarranted permissions, social networking, lifestyle, browsing, health and fitness, and travel apps are the most greedy. »
While for iOS: "Health and fitness apps, social networks, navigation, dating and lifestyle apps are the ones that require the most authorizations on average. Meanwhile, health and fitness, social media, navigation, weather, and education apps are the ones that require the most unwarranted permissions. »
Notifications in the lead
CyberNews researchers also carried out their survey, this time on the basis of the 50 most used applications. At the top of the list that requires the most permissions: MyJio: For Everything Jio, which is very popular in India, followed by WhatsApp, TrueCaller, Google Messages, WhatsApp Business, Facebook and Instagram.
The most requested permission by apps remains that of notifications. These seem harmless but nevertheless carry a risk, in particular that of sending unwanted advertisements or even fraudulent links... This is followed by access to storage, camera, and microphone. Requests for location and access to contacts are also very frequent.
Reject them at the start
So before you install an app, ask yourself if you need to share all the information with it. Shared settings could indeed be exploited by malicious actors, especially since most users tend to automatically grant all permissions, without paying attention to any possible danger. You are therefore advised to reject access requests initially and instead adjust the settings as you go, if necessary.
Also, be sure to regularly delete unnecessary apps, review the permissions of apps on your phone, and make updates. And if you download new ones, do so on official stores.
