If You See This On Your Phone, Your Apps Are Spying On You
While dangerous apps stealing your credentials, banking information and data also steal most of the headlines, there's a much wider problem for Android users. Many of the apps on your phone are secretly spying on what you do and reporting back.
This permission abuse is rife, despite Google warning developers that 'your app should request only the permissions that it needs,' especially when it comes to sensitive data. That 'sensitive information' includes your location, messages, photos and videos, as well as your camera and microphone and 'accessibility' settings that control a phone.
Now there might be a solution — finally. On-screen alerts that warn as soon as apps access sensitive functions such as your camera, texts or location. This 'dangerous" abuse is widespread. Some of the most popular apps on your phone request permissions they don't need. And as Cybernews has warned, users must 'pay attention."
As spotted by Android Authority, 'Samsung is cooking up a privacy and security powerhouse in One UI 8," one that will finally warn users with messages 'to review and revoke permissions from apps that may be overstepping their bounds.'
Just last month, Apteco warned this abuse is out of control even on iPhone. This highlights, it said, 'how extensive data collection has become across a huge variety of apps and also provides insight into how user profiles are built from multiple data variables in order to enable things such as personalisation and targeted advertising.'
When Cybernews checked 50 of the most popular Android apps, it says it found there were seemingly 'no limits' on 'dangerous permissions.' Multiple reports with multiple lists of popular apps abusing permissions. Something has to change. And now it looks like Samsung might have a solution — at least in part.
Samsung's new 'Alert Center' will warn users about 'sneaky apps, security risks, and aging account settings." Critically, these new messages seem to include 'when apps access sensitive permissions like location, microphone, camera, contacts, and more, especially when they are accessed in the background or too frequently.' No confirmation yet as to when this will hit phones as part of the One UI 8 upgrade.
It seems this will make it clear when permissions are being exploited, going beyond Google's Privacy Dashboard. That means users can decide if that app should be using that permission at that time. 'These alerts will name specific apps, such as 'XYZ accessed your camera' or 'ABC accessed your text messages in the background'.'
Just as with Android 15 and One UI 7, the forthcoming One UI 8 and Android 16 moves the bar on security and privacy. These new alerts won't eradicate permission abuse on their own, but just as with Apple's privacy labels this will shine a light on what's going on and give users pause for thought before clicking yes too reaily.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Watch These Microsoft Price Levels as Stock Closes Above $500 for First Time
Microsoft shares hit another record high on Wednesday as the tech giant's market capitalization moves closer to $4 trillion. After bottoming out near the 200-week moving average in early April, Microsoft shares have remained in a strong uptrend, gaining in 12 of the past 14 weeks. Bars Pattern analysis forecasts a potential bullish target of around $565 and indicates the current move higher may last until early September. Investors should watch crucial support levels on Microsoft's chart near $468 and $ (MSFT) shares hit another record high on Wednesday as the tech giant's market capitalization moves closer to $4 trillion. The company's market cap trails only that of Nvidia (NVDA), which briefly surpassed the $4 trillion level early in Wednesday's trading session, becoming the first company to ever achieve the milestone. Microsoft shares rose more than 1% to around $503 on Wednesday, putting the company's market value at $3.74 trillion. The stock has risen 46% from its early-April low and is nearly 20% higher year-to-date as of Wednesday's close investment bank Oppenheimer believes the tech titan has room for further upside, placing a $600 price target on Microsoft stock, in part, due to the company's AI revenue growth prospects. Meanwhile, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told clients in a note Wednesday that he anticipates Microsoft to reach the $4 trillion mark this summer. Below, we take a closer look at Microsoft's weekly chart and use technical analysis to identify price levels that investors will likely be watching. After bottoming near the 200-week moving average in early April, Microsoft shares have remained in a strong uptrend, gaining in 12 of the past 14 weeks. While the relative strength index confirms bullish price momentum, it has recently crossed into overbought territory, an area on the indicator that has previously coincided with consolidation phases in the stock. It's worth noting that the volume has trended downward during the stock's move higher in recent months, indicating that some larger institutional investors may be waiting for the tech giant's next earnings report before deploying more capital. Let's turn to Microsoft's chart to forecast where the shares may be headed next and also locate several crucial support levels worth monitoring during potential pullbacks in the stock. Investors can use bars pattern analysis to forecast how Microsoft's current move higher may play out. When applying the technique, we take the trend higher from March to July 2023 and reposition it from the stock's strong close above the 50-week MA in April. This analysis projects a potential bullish target of around $565, currently about 12% above Wednesday's closing price. The prior trend analyzed took place over 18 trading weeks, indicating the current move higher could last until early September if price action rhymes. We selected this earlier trend as it followed a strong close above the 50-week MA and closely tracks how the current move higher is playing out after a similar close above the indicator. The first lower level to watch sits around $468, an area that will likely gain significant attention near last July's prominent swing high. Investors could seek buying opportunities here if Microsoft bulls can successfully defend this crucial chart location. Finally, a deeper retracement could see the shares revisit lower support at the $425 level. This area finds a confluence of support from the rising 50-week MA and a trendline that links an array of trading activity on the chart extending back to March last year. The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info. As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities. Read the original article on Investopedia Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Vanguard Just Bought More SoundHound Stock. Should You?
SoundHound AI (SOUN) soared as much as 20% on Tuesday after a regulatory filing confirmed that Vanguard has been loading up on shares of the voice-enabled artificial intelligence platform this year. According to the SEC filing dated July 7, Vanguard added more than 5.29 million shares of the AI-enabled speech recognition firm in the first six months of 2025. This Analyst Just Raised His Broadcom Stock Price Target by 70%. Should You Buy AVGO Now? Why Alibaba Stock Looks Like a Screaming Buy After Falling 27% From Its 2025 Highs 2 ETFs Offering Juicy Dividend Yields of 20% or Higher Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! Including today's rally, SoundHound stock is up 100% versus its year-to-date low set in April. Vanguard – one of the most widely revered institutional investors in the world – now owns a total of 37.32 million shares of the voice AI firm. Its aggressive accumulation of SOUN shares is significant as it signals conviction in the company's long-term potential. Investors are cheering the news since Vanguard's validation could attract additional institutional interest, strengthen investor confidence, and improve overall liquidity in SoundHound stock. SOUN has been in a sharp uptrend over the past year primarily because its voice-enabled AI technology has been gaining traction across several industries, including automotive, customer care, and enterprise software. That momentum even helped the company's revenue come in a whopping 151% up on a year-over-year basis in its fiscal Q1. Despite Vanguard's vote of confidence and exceptional growth in SoundHound's revenue, caution is warranted in buying this AI stock at current levels due to valuation concerns. SOUN stock is currently going for a price-to-sales ratio of 53x – more than double the multiple on Nvidia (NVDA). That's actually why Michael Latimore – a senior Northland Securities analyst – reiterated his 'Hold' rating on SoundHound AI last week, warning of a potential downside in it to $8 per share. SOUN stock is now trading handily above analysts' mean target, which further suggests today's rally may have gone a bit too far. According to Barchart, the consensus rating on SoundHound shares remains at 'Moderate Buy' but the average price target of $11.50 indicates potential downside of nearly 14% from here. On the date of publication, Wajeeh Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nvidia's AI-powered rise to a $4 trillion market cap, in 3 charts
Nvidia's surge has stunned investors since ChatGPT ignited the AI boom at the end of 2022. On Wednesday, the chipmaker became the first $4 trillion company. These three charts illustrate Nvidia's rise to stock-market dominance. Nvidia's rise since the debut of ChatGPT in November 2022 has been stunning. Shares of the chipmaker—known mostly for gaming hardware prior to the AI boom—embarked on a dizzying rally since AI burst into public consciousness and sparked a frenzy for the tech among Wall Street investors. The stock has risen more than eightfold over that timeframe, and on Wednesday, the company became the first ever to hit a $4 trillion market capitalization. Here are three charts that document the chipmaker's dominance over the last three years. Nvidia has beaten the broader market in recent years, and it's not even close. Shares of the chipmaker are up 871% since November 30, 2022, the day ChatGPT made its debut. The benchmark index, by comparison, is up 54% over that timeframe. Nvidia's gains also far outstrip those of its fellow US chipmakers. The company's GPUs have become the premier piece of hardware powering large language models, and all of the biggest "hyperscalers"—companies with big AI ambitions like Meta and Microsoft—are its top customers. Meanwhile, semiconductor peers Advanced Micro Devices and Intel have been largely left behind in the AI race. While Nvidia is up almost 900% since November 2022, AMD is up 77%, and Intel is down almost 25% since then. Nvidia's revenue exploded in the years after OpenAI made ChatGPT available to the public. Revenue has climbed steadily higher every quarter for the last two years, and the growth has been heavily concentrated in its data center unit. The company pulled in $44.1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year, up 69% compared to the same quarter of 2024. Of that amount, $39.1 billion came from its data center business, which saw revenue grow 73% year-over-year. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
