#Surveillance#MobileApps#Spyware#AdTech: "Hundreds of thousands of ordinary apps, including popular ones such as 9gag, Kik, and a series of caller ID apps, are part of a global surveillance capability that starts with ads inside each app, and ends with the apps’ users being swept up into a powerful mass monitoring tool advertised to national security agencies that can track the physical location, hobbies, and family members of people to build billions of profiles, according to a 404 Media investigation.
404 Media’s investigation, based on now deleted marketing materials and videos, technical forensic analysis, and research from privacy activists, provides one of the clearest examinations yet of how advertisements in ordinary mobile apps can ultimately lead to surveillance by spy firms and their government clients through the real time bidding data supply chain. The pipeline involves smaller, obscure advertising firms and advertising industry giants like Google. In response to queries from 404 Media, Google and PubMatic, another ad firm, have already cut-off a company linked to the surveillance firm."
There can be a disconnect between the iPadOS and Android versions of the same mobile app. Here’s an example. Last night my wife wanted to check the status of an order with a popular retail store called JOANN. She asked me, “Why can I see the order status on my phone, but not on my iPad? That doesn’t make any sense.”
I explained to her that the Apple and Android versions of the mobile app may be developed by two entirely separate teams. They aren’t the same app. The only thing in common is the database, which was clearly working because she could access her order status on her phone.
Ideally, if a company employs two separate teams for their mobile app, those two teams should be in constant, tight communications. The two apps should have a similar look and feel (User Interface, UI), and similar functionality (User Experience, UX). Activities like updates, which may temporarily “break” the functionality, should be closely coordinated.
As she walked away, I wondered to myself, “In the real world, how closely do the Android and iOS/iPadOS teams work together?” I suspect it varies from one company to another. For those who know, can you give the rest of us any insight on this? Is it usually two teams or one? And if it’s two teams, how closely are they aligned?
Thanks to the replies I received to the post below, I was able to fix this issue before, but I just discovered that the @IceCubesApp on my iPhone had turned off the notifications yet again. I reset it again, but is this something I’m going to need to check after every update to make sure it didn’t get turned off? Or is it something else? My inquiring mind wants to know. 🤔
Cybersecurity and the Google Play Store – things to consider. Here’s a screenshot of some scientific calculator apps. Notice the difference in the size of the apps – anywhere from 2.6 MB to 28 MB. A scientific calculator is a pretty basic app, and it doesn’t take much code to write it. So ask yourself: “Why are some of these apps ten times larger than others?”
Hey, maybe it’s legit. Maybe they have really cool graphics with animations.
But, on the other hand – maybe all that extra code is for generating ads, collecting your data, or both. Maybe your phone becomes part of a bot army for spam generation. Who knows?
Notice two apps from one developer. The free app is 11 MB, and the paid app is only 3.9 MB. A full 7 MB of code in the free app is there only to support the advertisements, so the developer can generate revenue.
Think about this: for less than the price of a single latte, you can:
support the developer
enjoy an ad-free experience
use less battery
use less storage
use less memory
use less processor time
reduce your risk of having your information harvested.
Full Disclosure: I use a paid app for a scientific calculator, but it’s not any of the ones shown in the picture. I have never used any app in the picture, and I’m not endorsing any app. The screenshot is just an example to illustrate my points.
SUMMARY
Most people look at the number of downloads and the reviews to help them decide which app to get. I recommend that you also look at the size of the app, and consider making your phone run more efficiently by downloading the paid versions instead of the free versions.