Now is a good time to check the apps on your phone and make sure they’re still doing what you want.
Michelle Reinen with the state division of consumer protection says your phone carries a lot of data about you that you might not even realize you’re sharing with companies.
“Sometimes that’s done illegally without permission from the user. And sometimes, it is done legally, where you have the knowledge and have consented, but you may not fully understand how much information is being collected and sold.”
Reinen says you should feel free to turn off functions of apps that have the access they don’t really need. “If you don’t want it to access your camera. And there’s no need that an app X accesses your camera, go ahead and turn that off. If it’s not a weather app or a workout app that’s tracking your mileage, does it really need to know what your location is in order to function properly?”
Many apps share data between themselves and can create a profile of you that can be sold to advertisers and others. If you don’t need an app on your phone, it’s best to get rid of it.