That's a selfie of Darren?
Viral Chinese selfie app Meitu phones home with personal data
The Meitu selfie horrorshow app going viral through Western audiences is a privacy nightmare, researchers say. The app harvests information about the devices on which it runs, includes invasive advertising tracking features and is just badly coded. But worst of all, the free app appears to be phoning some to share personal …
COMMENTS
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Friday 20th January 2017 10:15 GMT Mage
Sad truth of Android
Many applications that shouldn't be, are communicating no-one knows what to no-one knows who. Eating your data allowance and privacy. Several apps inc. Kindle ereader put up error messages, even when you have not run them since last power on, when data is disabled.
Many versions of Android (even on things still being sold) don't allow any disabling of permissions. Many don't even properly inform you what is happening. Android TV on so called "smart" TVs is particularly bad.
* Only install Apps you REALLY REALLY need.
* Disable all Data when not explicitly wanting Internet
* Creatively use alternate versions of Apps that don't communicate (Calibre on Mac, Windows, Linux etc can take a remove DRM plug-in that uses your own Kindle serial number, then your /phone tablet can use any eReader app, even an ePub one.
Don't use eBooks using Adobe DRM. It contacts Adobe.
Don't use stock Android or Chrome Browser, but use Firefox on Android phone/Tablet.
Don't use ChromeOS or Chrome Browser on Windows, personally as I'm not Chinese, the Chinese security people rather than Google knowing everything might be preferable? However I avoid that too.
This is hardly news. Very many big name USA companies Apps do this.
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Saturday 21st January 2017 10:03 GMT Christian Berger
I'd go further
Don't use any local apps on your device.
root it, install VNC and mosh, use iptables to make sure it'll _only_ talk to your server, and run everything of your own server.
There is no even remotely "secure" mobile device out there. The most secure ones you can get at the moment are the Pocket CHIP and perhaps the Pyra in the future.
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