{"id":4389,"date":"2012-07-27T08:59:18","date_gmt":"2012-07-27T13:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=4389"},"modified":"2012-07-27T08:59:18","modified_gmt":"2012-07-27T13:59:18","slug":"information-mobilecellular-phone-private","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2012\/07\/information-mobilecellular-phone-private\/","title":{"rendered":"Is information on your mobile\/cellular phone really private?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your mobile\/cellular\u00a0phone or smartphone might not be as secure and as private as you think. Here are some ways in which your personal data might be collected by others.<\/em><\/p>\n

As we become increasingly welded to our mobile\/cellular phones, it is readily assumed that because it is such a personal device that all our interactions are private. This sentiment is corroborated by a recent study conducted by the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology<\/a>, which found that the majority of persons believed that the data stored on their smartphones were at least as private as that stored on there home PCs (Figure 1).<\/p>\n

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Figure 1: Results from the question “How Private is Mobile Phone Data Compared to Data on a Home Computer?” (Source: Berkeley Center for Law & Technology)<\/p><\/div>\n

This perception, unfortunately, is not consistent with reality. A number of parties are continually harvesting data you might consider private, and in many instances you are also readily and unwittingly sharing personal information and that which could affect your own safety and security. This post highlights key channels through which valuable personal data is collected through your mobile\/cellular device.<\/p>\n

Cookies and apps<\/h3>\n

Similar to websites accessed on your PC, websites accessed on your mobile\/cellular phone, along with mobile applications (apps) that you download to your smartphone, frequently track and store information about you, such as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • your name<\/li>\n
  • websites visited<\/li>\n
  • email addresses and other contact details<\/li>\n
  • your social networks contact list<\/li>\n
  • your location.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In many instances, and in the case of mobile apps in particular, permission to collect such information is a condition of use.\u00a0 Moreover, many of those apps tend to run in the background, and could thus be collecting and transmitting \u00a0information even when they are not being actively used.<\/p>\n