Privacy security

How to Tell If Your Apps Are Spying on You

If you've Zoomed at all over the last four-plus months, you're certainly familiar with that pop-up box that requests permission to use your device's microphone or camera. How else are you supposed to see or hear the person on the other line?

But there can be a more sinister side to these permissions: Some apps don't bother asking for your consent at all, turning your device into a pocket spy, loaded with cameras and microphones at the ready.

Back in 2018, for example, over 250 apps across the App Store and Google Play market were listening in for background audio through smartphone microphones, allowing the apps to figure out what you watch or listen to in order to serve up better targeted advertisements. And then, of course, there's the long-standing conspiracy theory that our smartphones are actively eavesdropping on us.

The good news: You can take a few simple precautions to always maintain your privacy and ward off any watchful apps. The following tips just take a few seconds to complete.