Security experts have
warned against downloading free apps, as they said, some of them are designed
to spy on mobile users to steal their personal ID and other sensitive data.
Daily Mail, in its latest
report quoting technology experts, said millions of mobile users are prone to
be spied by free apps they installed on their phones.
The report said flashlight
apps, which turn devices into torch, can secretly record sensitive personal details
of the mobile owners.
Vital information such
as phone location, owners and their contacts and also text messages are mapped
by these apps to be delivered to advertising agencies and
market research firms to understand users’ shopping habits, experts claimed.
They also warned that such apps could be made by criminals, identity
thieves and hackers to steal personal data which could be used to access their
bank accounts and other personal information.
Most popular flashlight apps for Android smartphones are Super-Bright
LED Flashlight, Tiny Flashlight+LED and Brightest Flashlight Free.
Gary
Miliefsky, founder of cyber-security firm SnoopWall, advised the US government
against such apps. He said customers don’t realise that these programmes could be
much more than simply used as torch lights.
To
escape legal wrangles, app makers write warnings that data will be passed on to
third parties, inside the lengthy terms and conditions, which hardly anyone reads.
However, the threat does not apply to the in-built flashlight.
American
watchdog The Federal Trade Commission had earlier upheld a complaint against a flashlight
app that it had failed to inform the customers that information was being sent to
advertisers.
Google,
which has made Android and online store for getting apps, refused to comment on
individual apps but said they remove apps that violate their policies.
