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These 3 iPhone Apps May Be Sharing Your Personal Data—Delete Them ASAP!

June 25, 2025 by Lisa Cupido

 
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In today’s digital world, protecting your personal data is more important than ever. From banking and shopping to keeping in contact with friends and family, so much of our lives now happens through our phones and computers — and all of that activity leaves a digital trail. If your data ends up in the wrong hands, it can lead to serious problems like identity theft, financial fraud, or even access to your accounts. While most of us assume our information is safe, the reality is that privacy isn’t always guaranteed, especially if we’re not paying close attention to where our data is going.

One thing many people don’t realize is that some apps — especially social media and free apps — are collecting and sharing far more information than you might be comfortable with. This can include your location, contacts, browsing habits, and more. The good news is, once you know which apps are doing this, you can take control by deleting them or changing their privacy settings to limit how much data they access. These three iPhone apps may be sharing your personal data — decide whether it’s worth it for you to delete them.

1. Facebook

Facebook is well-known for collecting a wide range of personal data, including everything from your name, location, and contact info to what you like, comment on, and even which websites you visit outside the app. It uses this information to build a detailed profile of you, which is then used to target ads and content. This data isn’t just kept within Facebook, either. It’s shared with advertisers and third-party partners so they can serve you more personalized ads and track how effective those ads are. Deleting Facebook is the one true way you can keep it from collecting and sharing your data.

2. TikTok

TikTok collects quite a bit of data while you scroll and interact with videos. This includes your device information, browsing habits, location data, and even biometric info. The app shares information with advertisers, marketing firms, and potentially other third parties. TikTok’s data practices have raised privacy concerns, especially because of the company’s ties to China, so it’s a good idea to be cautious about what you share in the app and review your privacy settings regularly.

3. Instagram

As part of Meta (formerly Facebook), Instagram gathers a lot of personal data, including who you follow, what posts you interact with, the content of your messages, your shopping activity, and your location. Like Facebook, this info is shared with Meta’s ad network and used to show you super-targeted ads across both platforms. Even if you don’t use Instagram much, it still collects background data if the app has access.

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