In today’s digital world, one of the most important things to do is keep your devices and, subsequently, yourself, safe.
Because technology has advanced so much, unfortunately, that means there are many ways that scammers can trick you into accessing things like your login information for various sites, locations, and more. There are scams that have become more obvious over the years, and then there are more subtle risks that can end up leading to something more dangerous. For instance, using info from tech experts, we’re listing three iPhone apps that can put your privacy at risk. Read more about them below.
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1. Snapchat
Snapchat used to be an extremely simple app, with pictures back and forth that disappeared after a few seconds. Now, there are so many newer, more complex features, and some tech pros are pointing out that they can be risky.
"Snapchat is built for needing your location, with some of its most popular features being 'Snap Map' and geofilters," explains tech pro Steven Athwal. "Snapchat gathers your location information via your IP address and network signals, using this to target adverts and promote local stories. If you want to turn off location tracking for Snapchat, you need to do it at the device level, not by turning on Ghost Mode."
2. X
Once known as Twitter, there are millions of iPhone users who log on to X at least once a day. Though it's extremely popular and has become a hub for news, celebrity updates, funny memes, and more, it also comes with its fair share of risks, especially since it introduced new features like Grok.
"Users go here to stay up to date on current events, follow their favorite talking heads and generally troll their enemies," says cybersecurity pro and author Patrick Coughlin. "Now, X collects biometric data and uses public user content, including images of your face and your voice, to train its own Grok AI models. We've seen issues with Grok accidentally exposing user conversations on X."
3. TikTok
Many iPhone users would argue that TikTok is today's most popular social media app. After all, you can use it for both short and long content, and there are now people who use TikTok as an app that accelerates their careers. Still, it's important to use caution while using it.
"Although not as detailed as the Meta location data, it's still getting information about you," adds Athwal. "Using your IP address, SIM information, your current time zone, and the language settings you enable, it makes an estimate of your location. Then, it shows you local posts, even when you didn't share your location."
