How to protect mobile phone privacy

How to protect mobile phone privacy

With the advent of smartphones, our way of communicating and our routines in general have changed profoundly. On the one hand there is the positive technological progress, but on the other hand there are growing fears related to privacy , since unfortunately the bad guys always come up with new methods to try to obtain sensitive data.

It is therefore more important than ever to understand how to protect the privacy of your mobile , avoiding falling into those classic traps that could jeopardize the security of your trusted device. However, there are not only the bad guys involved, as over the years users are acquiring an ever greater awareness in terms of data processing.

Take advantage of the operating system options

Concerns related to privacy concern an increasingly large slice of public opinion, so the big players in the tech world can no longer ignore it. Among the giants of the sector who first “rode” this issue is Apple which has the merit of offering its users numerous functions related to the protection of privacy.

For example, if you have an iPhone you can go to the operating system Settings (using the gear icon on the Home screen) and move to the Privacy and security section. If you want to know more about brother-driver-forum I leave you my dedicated tutorial. Where you will find all the appropriate options relating to the processing of your data.

Here, by clicking on the App privacy report item and then on the Activate app privacy report option , you can start monitoring the app activities and get summaries of how often the applications use the various permissions you have granted them (e.g. the one for localization ). There is also a summary of network activities.

On Android , the situation becomes a little more “intricate”, given the number of different models on the market, but again I recommend that you access the System Settings and take a look at the Privacy section : on a good number of devices you may find the so-called Privacy Dashboard , as well as other useful options, for example, to manage app permissions.

Use a secure release system

Using a secure unlocking system is another step in protecting the privacy of your mobile . Since your smartphone hosts sensitive data – contacts, appointments, reminders, web history, and so on – you need to make sure that no one can access it freely.

Therefore, avoid unsafe unlocking systems (such as the pattern, a method that could be easily intercepted by those around you) and use a PIN or password that is difficult to guess . If your smartphone provides for the possibility of unlocking via a biometric sensor , such as the one with a fingerprint or face recognition , enable it: it is even more reliable and secure.

How do you say? Have no idea how to enable one of the above unlocking systems on your mobile phone? I’ll explain it to you right away: if you have an Android smartphone , generally you just need to go to the Settings and then select the item relating to the unlocking methods , for example Security . Here will be present all the options of the case. If you have an iPhone , on the other hand, go to Settings and tap on Face ID / Touch ID and code> Add code / Change code.

Hide notifications from the lock screen

The smartphone lock screen , or the lock screen where, for example, the time and the latest notifications received are shown, may reveal some sensitive information . For this very reason, it is important to hide notifications from the lock screen .

How can you do this? If you have an Android smartphone , generally just go to Settings> Security> Screen Lock> PIN , set a PIN and select the option to hide only sensitive content . However, it depends on the type of template you have: for example, you may find these options on some notification screen .

On the iPhone , on the other hand, go to Settings> Notifications , tap on the name of the app for which you do not want to view notifications on the lock screen (for example, WhatsApp ) and move the switch located next to the Screen icon to OFF block. If you want to know more in detail Lyricsdigest you can read the tutorial that I just linked to you and which explains in detail. You may also want to delve into the options in the section below, which is LOCK SCREEN APPEARANCE.

Do not access public Wi-Fi networks

Connecting to public Wi-Fi networks can potentially put your device’s privacy at risk. For what reason? Well, public Wi-Fi networks are notoriously more vulnerable to cyber attacks and, in fact, cybercriminals use them to perpetrate so-called data sniffing. If you need to connect to the Internet when you are away from home, the advice I can give you is to use your carrier’s 4G / 5G connection or to connect to a protected Wi-Fi network.

 

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Katherine

About the Author: Katherine

Katherine is a passionate digital nomad with a major in English language and literature, a word connoisseur who loves writing about raging technologies, digital marketing, and career conundrums.

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