Survey finds more than half of mobile users distrust apps installed on their phones due to privacy concerns

Back in 2011 there was quite a big issue over location data collection where many felt that this was an invasion of their privacy. Whether intentional or not, there are some apps that require some rather personal information on you, such as your location, browsing history, address, phone number, email address, and etc. As it turns out in a recent survey conducted by the Pew Reseach Center, they claim that “more than half of mobile application users have uninstalled or avoided certain apps due to concerns about the way personal information is shared or collected by the app.”

As pictured in the graph above, the survey also found that smartphone owners tend to lean more towards the cautious side, making sure to backup often and to clear browsing data and to disable location tracking. Of course some of these reasons might have to do with fear of having their privacy invaded, but at the same time it could also be due to performance issues as the disabling of location tracking can help save battery life, while constant backing up of data is just the act of being safe than sorry. In any case the full report can be found on the Pew Research Center’s website, but what do you guys think? Do you agree with the survey’s findings?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, survey