Infographic: The Risk Behind Mobile Applications

By John Yong, 31 May 2012

Most of you using Apple or Android devices have probably downloaded mobile applications.

Whether it is to play games, get information or edit pictures—mobile apps are extremely useful to have.

However, did you know some mobile apps are able to access and bypass privacy settings on your mobile phones.

In an infographic by application security firm Veracode, it was discovered that over 25 billion Android and iOS apps were downloaded in 2011—and with the popularity of apps increasing, users should be aware of four levels of potential privacy risk.

The infographic reports that there are apps with malicious codes that can access your personal data such as your contacts and call logs.

It was also discovered that there are fake applications created to spread malware which allows hackers to access your mobile device.

The inforgraphic advises to download original apps from trusted apps stores and to delete applications that do not allow you to change privacy or sharing settings.