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Smartphone Owners Worry About Mobile App Security [STUDY]

Mobile phone owners might have a reason to worry about their privacy, or at least they feel like they do. According to a new Pew Research study, nearly one-third of mobile phone owners have experienced losing their cellphone or having it stolen. And 12% said their phone has been accessed in a way that made them feel like their privacy was invaded.

These privacy worries have caused more than half (54%) of mobile app users to not download an app after they read what information the app had to access, and 33% of mobile app users went so far as to uninstall an app once they learned what information it was accessing. This goes for both Android and iPhone users.

?As mobile applications become an increasingly important gateway to online services and communications, users? cell phones have become rich repositories that chronicle their lives,? Mary Madden, research associate for the project and a co-author of the report, said in a press release. ?The way a mobile application handles personal data is a feature that many cellphone owners now take into consideration when choosing the apps they will use.?

Across demographics, the concern for protecting personal information on mobile apps was consistent. It seems all smartphone owners take steps to avoid any information breaches ? backing up contacts and files, clearing their browser history and turning off location-tracking features. But despite these precautions, ?smartphone owners are also twice as likely as other cell owners to have experienced someone accessing their phone in a way that made them feel like their privacy had been invaded,? the Pew report states. ?Owners of smartphones and more basic phones are equally likely to say their phone has been lost or stolen.?

People ages 18-24 are the most likely age group to lose their smartphone or have it stolen (45%), or have it accessed in a way that compromised their data (24%).

?The wealth of intimate details stored on smartphones makes them akin to the personal diaries of the past?the information they contain is hard to replace if lost, and potentially embarrassing in the wrong hands,? Aaron Smith, a research associate with the project and report co-author, said in a press release.

This information was gathered by the Pew Research Center?s Internet & American Life Project via telephone from March 15-April 3, 2012 among 2,254 adults ages 18 and over, including surveys in English and Spanish and on both landlines and cellphones.

How much personal information are you comfortable putting on your cellphone? Tell us in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ymgerman

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/09/05/smartphone-security/

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