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I paid $80 for a 'privacy audit' app that just sold my data
It scanned my phone and said it would show me who was tracking me. Turns out the company behind it was sharing my contact list and location history with data brokers. Has anyone found a legit tool for this that isn't a scam?
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the_jenny5d ago
Oh, that's the worst feeling. It's like buying a better lock only to find out the locksmith made a copy of your key. This happens everywhere now, from those "free" tax filing sites to flashlight apps. The very thing sold as a solution is often the problem. I've given up on finding a magic app and just focus on the basic settings my phone already has. It's not perfect, but at least I know who built it.
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victorb175d ago
Reminds me of when my dad bought a fancy "secure" router that came with its own app for easy setup. Turns out the app was sending our whole network history to some data broker in another country. Felt like we invited a spy into the house just to change the wifi password. Now I just use the ugly settings page you get by typing numbers into the browser bar. What's the weirdest place you've found hidden tracking?
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william_carter5d ago
Yeah, that's the thing with the browser settings page too though. It's not some safe haven. My old router's admin page was phoning home with usage stats by default. Had to dig into an advanced tab to find the opt-out. The real kicker was my smart TV. Found out the "quick start" feature that makes it turn on fast was sending a detailed log of every app I opened and for how long, even in standby mode. Nothing's truly off the grid anymore.
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