KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Smartphone users have come to depend on free apps to help schedule their lives and keep up with the lives of others.
The apps are such an intricate part of our lives that we’ve woven them into our daily habits and guilty pleasures.
While some people have dozens of apps and others just a few, most are free to use.
But there’s a catch.
All apps collect some data, but many apps collect detailed location data that are a target of companies and criminals.
"I think people don't realize the magnitude of data collection," said Burton Kelso, a technology expert who has been tracking tech trends for 25 years. "People should be really concerned about the information that is gathered on them."
Even if that location data is anonymous, it doesn't take much for an identity to be matched to that information.
If that data shows an smartphone goes to the same address every night, then a simple records search can reveal the name of the person who lives there.
You might not care that these companies know your address, but they can also track what restaurants you eat at and how often, what doctors you go to, or where you spend your free time.
A December report by the New York Times detailed thousands of data points collected from cell phone users which highlights the concerns some have with the amount of information – even if it's not initially personally-identifiable – in revealing details of the lives of private citizens.
You can turn off location tracking for any app by going to your phone's settings and disabling that function.
Editor's note: Both our KSHB phone app and our Storm Shield phone app have the ability to use your phone's location information for your phone if you permit it, although you can turn it off at any time. Our apps primarily use it to show weather information for your current location. But we may also use it for other purposes, and in some cases we may share it with third parties. Full details are spelled out in our privacy policy, which we encourage you to read. Click here to see it.
