Our privacy It is compromised on many occasions when using applications of all kinds or registering on Internet pages. A clear example are the physical activity programs, of which we are going to talk. They are basically apps that we install on our mobile phones and they record how much we have run, at what average speed we have ridden, etc. But, how could they put us at risk on the Internet and what to do to avoid it?
Exercise programs, a problem for privacy
They are undoubtedly applications that collect a lot of personal data. For example, if you install a program to read PDF files, it will not ask you for as much information as a exercise app, which will ask you to put your age, weight, height, possibly diet or physical condition, as well as collect everything you do. Basically, it will know every step you take in your day to day, where you move or what route you take.
Just what we mentioned is what can get serious danger our privacy. It is true that this makes sense, since if we want to get in shape and use a program that helps us, it is necessary to put this data. But what happens when they use it for bad purposes? They could be spying on us without knowing it or even a third party that manages to access that information.
We have seen cases in which some sports applications, such as the MyFitnessPal example that we talked about in RedesZone a few years ago. What happened is that user information was leaked, with data such as email, password, etc. All of that ended up for sale on the Dark Web.
Does this mean that all sports apps of this type are spying on you? No, but they are collecting a lot of personal data that at some point could end up in the wrong hands. Even those responsible for these platforms are aware of this and some applications such as Strava allow you to hide the start and end points of an exercise, for example.
What to do to use sports apps safely
So, what can we do to use sports applications in complete safety? The first thing is choose very well which program We are going to use. You will see that there are many available on the Internet, but by no means all of them are reliable. It is important that you carefully review what you are installing, look for information on the net and inform yourself.
It is also key that you always install these applications from official sources. Avoid installing them from sites that are not safe. For example, you should never install them from a link that comes to you by mail or you find on a page. You should always go to the official site of the program or use trustworthy app stores, such as Google Play.
Likewise, it is essential that you have them updated. Sometimes the problem comes when a vulnerability appears. Therefore, it is key that you always update the programs you use, especially those that may have sensitive information. Install whatever patch is available, whatever it is.
According to the setting, to keep your privacy as much as possible, what you can do is hide the data and only show it to your friends, for example. You can also avoid putting a lot of information if you only want to record the routes and little else. All this will limit that they can spy on you.
In short, as you can see, sports applications are very useful but they can also pose a problem for privacy. It is important that you take action and do not make mistakes. We already saw in a previous article why total anonymity on the Internet is very difficult, but we can always improve it.
