The Worst Mobile Apps For Privacy

ExpressVPN compiled its list for 2019 of the four worst mobile apps for privacy. If you value your online privacy and want to protect yourself, the security firm advises consumers to, "Delete them now." The list of apps includes both predictable items and some surprises:

"1. Angry Birds: If you were an international spying organization, which app would you target to harvest smartphone user information? If you picked Angry Birds, congratulations! You’re thinking just like the NSA and GCHQ did... what it lacks in gameplay, it certainly makes up for in leaky data... A mobile ad platform placed a code snippet in Angry Birds that allowed the company to target advertisements to users based on previously collected information. Unfortunately, the ad’s library of data was visible, meaning it was leaking user information such as phone number, call logs, location, political affiliation, sexual orientation, and marital status..."

"2. The YouVersion Bible App: The YouVersion Bible App is on more than 300 million devices around the world. It claims to be the No. 1 Bible app and comes with over 1,400 Bibles in over 1,000 languages. It also harvests data... Notable permissions the app demands are full internet access, the ability to connect and disconnect to Wi-Fi, modify stored content on the phone, track the device’s location, and read all a user’s contacts..."

Read the full list of sketchy apps at the ExpressVPN site.