If you’re an iPhone or Android user, there’s a good chance you spend several hours a day on your phone, and using various apps while doing so.
However, not all of the apps you use necessarily have your best interests at heart. In today’s tech-driven world, data breaches and letting strangers have access to your personal information through apps and more are a big concern. If you want to be more protective of your user data, here are three apps tech pros suggest deleting if you can. Read more about them below.
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1. TikTok
TikTok is by far one of today's most popular social media apps, and there are a lot of users who would consider themselves addicted to it. Though it's entertaining, many tech pros warn against the way it collects data, as some fear it could be used for invasive purposes.
"It harvests more personal information than any other large foreign-owned application in the US, including name, address, phone number, contacts, and extensive behavioral data," explains digital safety pro Jurgis Plikaitis. "Despite the January 2026 ownership change, the updated terms of service actually expanded its powers over your data rather than restricting them. Furthermore, there were multiple cases of TikTok monitoring user activity even when the app was closed, which actually sounds scary for some users."
2. X (Formerly Twitter)
Another app that's been around for a long time is X, which was formerly known as Twitter, before it was bought by Elon Musk. Despite the app being super popular after being around for over a decade, it's gone through a lot of changes regarding privacy policies, and they likely aren't for the better.
"Users go here to stay up to date on current events, follow their favorite talking heads and generally troll their enemies," explains cybersecurity expert 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 and where Grok's spicy mode has been used to create sexualized images of minors."
3. Meta Apps (Facebook, Instagram, Etc.)
One of the leading tech companies of today is Meta, which is the umbrella company that includes some of today's leading social media apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. For many smartphone users, these apps are part of their everyday routine. Still, you might want to think twice before giving them access to your information.
"Users come here to connect with others and be entertained," adds Coughlin. "They didn't come here to line the pockets of fraudsters. Meta's apps collect somewhere north of 150 distinct data points per user and stitch them together across the entire family of products, creating a boon for legitimate and fraudulent advertisers alike. Meta's platforms have become the single largest reported source of consumer fraud in the United States."
