'If in doubt, say no': why phone apps want permission to use your personal data

Smartphones are incredibly useful tools and entertainment devices. They are also a gateway to a massive amount of our personal data. They can find out where we are, listen to us and see us, know who we talk to and what's on our schedule. And, through apps, as downloaded to your phone through Apple or Google's store, companies can leverage this information to provide us with services and them with valuable data.

It's easy to see how the constant, seemingly intrusive data requests can play into the general user's suspicions that their phone is spying on them.The NSW digital licence wanted access to lots of parts of your phone.When you install a new app, it's common for it to ask for certain permissions. In the past, apps asked for everything they might possibly need upfront, but in newer versions of iOS and Android things are more segmented so they might only ask when they need access.

So why ask for camera access? Usually the app has an element that lets you upload pictures or scan QR codes . Unless it's an image-focused app, the feature that requires access to the camera is usually completely optional. For example, Google Maps uses it for a But you'll most likely never see it unexpectedly because, again, the storage required to collect bulk audio data from your phone would be prohibitive for most apps. And, for Facebook specifically, it's also totally unnecessary. You provide Facebook with all the data it needs to effectively target you for ads just by having an account, adding friends, browsing the internet and volunteering information by liking, tagging and scrolling.

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