I’m a cybersecurity expert – here are the apps I would NEVER use
I am a hacking expert. These are the mainstream apps that I would NEVER use due to privacy concerns
Tom Gaffney is a cybersecurity specialist at F-Secure
Many of the world’s most popular apps have questionable terms of service and misuse private data to make money, according to a cybersecurity expert.
Tom Gaffney, cybersecurity expert at F-Secure, tells DailyMail.com there are several popular apps that he would never use due to fear of what they do with private data.
He says that by having data monitored by “big tech” companies, they can decide what we see online, and that we are “defined by what computer algorithms decide for us.”
Below are Gaffney’s three apps that he would never use due to privacy fears.
Alexa
Digital voice assistants like Alexa are serious privacy risks, says Gaffney.
The devices listen for “wake words” before they work, but listen to them all the time – and record and process snippets of your voice in data centers far from your home.
Gaffney says, “I don’t use them at all, but for those who do, I wouldn’t put them in the bathroom or bedroom.” Although they wake up with trigger words, they listen for a few seconds afterwards.
“It is designed that the data goes to a central cloud, in reality the processing could be done much more securely on the device, at home.”
Amazon’s digital assistant has a dedicated app that powers all of the company’s devices. Gaffney says, “I don’t use them at all, but for those who do, I wouldn’t put them in the bathroom or bedroom”
Uber
Uber has a history of privacy concerns, says Gaffney.
In addition to a massive data breach, the company also faced controversy over a “God View” that allowed employees to see where app users were.
Gaffney says: “Their previous head of security was indicted for withholding a past data breach in 2016 and there have been driver data leaks in 2022 and more recently this year.
Gaffney says Meta-owned WhatsApp’s “end-to-end” encryption – encrypting content so only the communicating users can see the messages – is a positive step, but he will no longer use WhatsApp because it shares data with Facebook.
He says, “WhatsApp has been providing the same user data since 2020 and combining it with Facebook because they have the same ownership. I quit WhatsApp when they changed their terms and conditions.”
What are the companies saying?
DailyMail.com has reached out to the companies for comment.
An Uber spokesperson said: “More than 118 million active users trust Uber with their data and privacy. Uber has taken robust measures to prevent loss or unauthorized use of personal data.”