By India McCarty
A troubling new privacy concern has come to light for smartphone users as they discover many apps secretly record their screen activity.
“In recent years, a troubling trend has emerged where certain apps have been discovered to record screen activity without explicit user permission,” a report from Morning Overview explained. “This practice is often buried within complex terms and conditions, making it difficult for users to be fully aware of what they are consenting to.”
For example, it was recently uncovered that T-Mobile has been recording users of their T-Life app which, unsurprisingly, caused some backlash among users who were not pleased to hear their personal phone activity was being recorded.
In response to the situation, a T-Mobile spokesperson said, “To help us give customers who use T-Life a smoother experience, we are rolling out a new tool in the app that will help us quickly troubleshoot reported or detected issues. This tool records activities within the app only and does not see or access any personal information.”
Related: Disney Busted for Not Protecting Children’s Data Online
However well-intentioned a company’s screen-recording might be, it’s still a dangerous practice — these recordings could give someone access to a user’s passwords, financial details or private communications.
Another complicating factor? The laws surrounding these situations are complex and vary across jurisdictions. It can be challenging to successfully enforce the regulations that are in place.
In the meantime, there are some steps you can take to be on the lookout for apps that might be recording you without your knowledge or consent.
BitDefender shared some factors that might mean your phone is compromised, including, “sudden battery drain, overheating, or sluggish performance, unusual background noise during calls, apps requesting permissions they don’t need (e.g., a flashlight asking for camera and mic access) [and] data usage spikes or texts you didn’t send.”
The site also recommended steps you can take to ensure your phone won’t be hijacked, like keeping your phone OS updated, only downloading things from verified sources and performing monthly “privacy audits,” where you “check app permissions, disable background location sharing, and review connected device lists on cloud accounts like Google, Apple, or Meta” each month.
As we continue to try to keep up with the rapidly-changing digital world, more stringent regulations will likely be put into place. In the meantime, it’s important to stay aware of online threats and do what you can to avoid them.
Read Next: What Parents Really Need to Know About Giving Their Young Child a Smartphone
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