Nobody can hurt me without my permission. — Mahatma Gandhi
Weekly Tip
As I read this week’s news about Pokemon Go and how it has full access to your Google Account on your phone and subsequently online it caused me to re-examine the access that I have granted to applications on my phone. When you do this, you will be surprised at what they want to access.
Our phones each have a different way of granting privileges to applications and some give us more control over each piece than others. The scary piece is when an application wants to access your call records or to be able to make a phone call when it has no business even interfacing with that section of your device. I have seen and read about applications accessing every part of the phone in what can only be seen as poor coding on the part of the developer, a blatant attempt to infect and control your device, or a lack of knowledge on the part of the developer with regards to the actual needs of the application. If you have the access to limit what rights are given, it is in your best interest to do so. Turn off access to contacts, sms, phone calls, gps, photos, etc if the application does not need access. This will make your phone more secure and efficient, and therefore will protect your privacy and increase your level of security. It is also a good idea to periodically look at these settings in case an update changes them.
We all use our phones for contact, news, entertainment, and more. What we need to do is be aware of how someone might corrupt that process to their benefit or to our detriment. Be safe, be smart, and be aware.
Interesting News
Pokemon Go Has Full Access Permissions to Your Emails and Documents
Google to change app permissions for ‘Pokémon Go’ after security concerns
Senator voices concerns about ‘Pokemon GO’ data privacy
