3 Potentially Dangerous Apps
Technology can be wonderful. Think about the things it allows us to do: travel thousands of miles in mere hours or communicate with individuals on the other side of the globe. Individuals from a couple of hundred years ago would view us as wizards for the things we’re now capable of doing.
You can do many things with applications, and thousands of them are right there on the App Store waiting for you. Most are free, while a few come with a modest price tag.
There are safety issues and concerns with some apps, though. Let’s look at some of the ones you should be careful when using.
Rideshare Apps
There are rideshare app safety concerns that preoccupy some users, and perhaps rightly so. When we’re talking about rideshares, the two we usually mean are:
- Uber
- Lyft
These are the ones that have been most successful. You can easily download their app for your iOS or Android device and be using them within minutes.
But how safe are they? You’re contacting someone for a ride who you don’t know. Uber and Lyft vet their drivers, but you don’t always know how rigorously they do that.
If you use the Uber or Lyft app and have a driver pick you up at your house, then they know where you live. There’s nothing to say that a driver couldn’t start stalking you. It might seem farfetched, but the world’s a dangerous place, and you never know.
Also, there are potential problems with the app itself. The driver uses it to get to your destination. However, they might not know the city’s layout.
They might take you through a dangerous neighborhood just because the app says they should. This is a mistake that an experienced driver would avoid, but it’s possible with someone new to your area.
TikTok
People have given TikTok a lot of attention recently. That’s because:
- Some individuals worry about Chinese spying through the app
- It has a porous safety record
Amazon and Wells Fargo have asked their employees to delete the app, with some other prominent companies following their lead. The higher-ups feel that the app can tap into your emails and learn details about your private life.
Are these fears founded? It’s hard to say. There’s one pretty strong indicator, though.
The US military has told its service members to delete TikTok. They’ve been vague about the mandate, but it’s the military. If anyone has the dirt about a potential Chinese spying operation, you’d think they’d be the ones.
What’s undeniable is that the US government has hit TikTok with fines for potential security vulnerabilities and data privacy violations. That’s probably enough that you should seriously consider getting rid of it, especially since there are similar applications that do basically the same thing.
Funimate, Mitron, and Dubsmash are similar to TikTok, so if you want something with nearly identical functionality and a better safety record, check those out.
Zoom
Zoom is now more popular than ever, with the ongoing pandemic and prevailing Covid-19 concerns. It’s a method that enables individuals to conference with each other over long distances, ideal for companies with home workforces.
Still, some people worry about spying with the Zoom app as well. Some think that you can hack it too easily.
When you’re a boss talking with your employees about sensitive matters, you want to be sure that no one is spying on you. If someone is surreptitiously listening to your conferences, they can learn vital company information.
They might use this for blackmail or insider trading. Remember that some people are using Zoom in their personal lives as well, so they can learn about what’s happening in both your home life and your work situation.
As with TikTok, there are other apps besides Zoom that function similarly. The GoToMeeting app is a popular one, as is Cisco Jabber. Some other options are Google Hangouts Meet and TeamViewer.
The thing about the 21st century’s technology expansion is that there are so many options from which to choose. That true with apps and just about anything else.
You don’t have just the one choice for a ride-share or conference app, any more than you have only one option for eCommerce or telehealth. If people say that one app is dangerous, and you see anecdotal evidence that’s the case, you can easily use something else.
Try to use only safe apps that people review positively. That’s how to keep yourself and your data safe.
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