Data privacy: The Information Your Phone Contains About You

August 12, 2014 1:05 PM

data privacyYour phone knows everything and says a lot about you.

The recent worldwide debate about the personal data privacy and security act, localising-devices and lack of securities, to enumerate a few, have made the headlines. These analyses are not always easy to understand, and are often boring to read. Here is an example showing what information can be collected by your phone without your knowledge which, I hope, will make you question important issues.

Unfortunately, this tip on your data privacy is designed for iPhone users. So, take your iPhone or grab your friend’s iPhone to impress him/her. If you are with a loved one, maybe it is the right moment to remember the importance of trust and freedom within a relationship.

From the iPhone home, go to settings>Privacy>Location Services, then scroll down>System Services and finally>Frequent Locations.

data privacy

In the history here, you can read the list of the places you frequently go to, quite precisely. Though, thanks to the map visualisation you can have a clear sum-up. Well, the most visited places are, of course, your home and your work.

Moreover, you can still get an in-depth overview, in data, of your week(s) with the frequency, the day and time, and also the duration of the places you have been –with, of course, an approximate address.

Ultimately, there are two things you could do now: switch off the service or try to “improve Maps”. I am not saying it is all bad, I am warning people to look at it and question it. There are numerous other devices that collect information about us without our consent. In the name of innovative technology, we are getting used to reporting everything about us and staying “linked” to others all the time. Our devices are part of us and ultra-personalized: knowing who we are, where we live and who are our siblings and friends.

But what happens with all this data and what about your data privacy?

This week, the Google story presents the same questionable issues. While Gmail helped to catch a sex offender by scanning his mailbox, or his data privacy –and finding indecent images of children- it also raises privacy concerns for normal individuals.

And the best part of it is that we have decided to give free access to our data privacy, or in other words our lives, without showing any real concern.

Do you feel concerned about your data privacy? Do you have any tips to maintain your data privacy? Feel free to comment below. 

Tags: