As the market expands, it has become a question of freedom versus control in the Android app market. Security is playing catch-up, as the breaching of personal privacy increases due to a deluge of malicious software being released into the marketplace.
In a recent case, the social network Path found itself at the centre of fierce controversy, after accessing and uploading iPhone users’ contact databases without their permission.
Smartphone apps provide useful services. However, there is a hidden cost, often unknown to the user – developers collect information about the user without their full knowledge. Apps can access your contact numbers, track your current location, view your web history and then share this data with mobile ad networks.
Image: Android Credit: University of Cambridge
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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