Are we moving in the Right Direction?

Are we moving in the right direction? Question yourself before moving any further in this article, as it’s the responsibility of both Android Developers and End Users to make sure the data is secured and safe in all terms possible. Today, Smartphones (Android) and Internet have become extensively affordable because of cut throat competition by huge Corporate Masses. But, as end users, are we ready to take in and consume this platform for a greater good? or are the developers in the best shape to develop cleaner & safer applications?

Today, anyone & everyone can be on Play store as a developer / end user. Now the issue is, there is no awareness about the application usage across the network for the Developer and the end user has no idea about the ill effects of the application installed on their phones and it’s reach. Trust me this platform has been exploited by thousands of developers and data of millions of users are at stake during every single breach.

There are many platforms to download the Android application from various other platforms (which is not recommended by Google), but for an example let’s assume Play store is the only medium where Android apps are available and downloaded from. Now every developer has to meet certain criteria for developing an Android app and publishing it on Play store, now I agree for the fact that it’s not very easy but the truth is, Google Play store is One-time signup Platform where the developer has to sign up and register by paying $25 (at the time of writing this article). And gain lifetime access to Developer Console and publish as many applications he / she wants, now have a glance at the total no. of applications available on the Play store as of Dec 2018: 2600000 (2.6million). And the end user doesn’t think twice before downloading any random applications no matter what is the use case, the end user permits all the access to the application requests, no matter what is actually needed for the usability of the application and which is useless and permissions are not required.

Here are the points an Android Developer should keep in mind regarding User Data & Privacy:

• You should be extra cautious while handling Personal and Sensitive data.
• The app must provide an in-app disclosure of user data collection and use.
• App’s in-app disclosure must include a request for user consent.
• You must be completely transparent in how you handle the user data.

and lot more, equally abiding by the Terms and conditions of Google Play store and following all the Privacy / Data Protection laws applicable ethically.

Here are some examples of common violations:

• An app that accesses a user’s inventory of installed apps and doesn’t treat this data as personal or sensitive data subject to the Privacy Policy, Secure Transmission, and Prominent Disclosure requirements.
• An app that accesses a user’s phone or contact book data and doesn’t treat this data as personal or sensitive data subject to the Privacy Policy, Secure Transmission, and Prominent Disclosure requirements.

Here are the points an Android Smartphone User should keep in mind:

• Always download applications from Android Play store only and from a trusted Developer after verifying the developer.
• An user must act smart and think twice before installing any application on his/her phone.
• The user must retain only those apps in the phone which are used very frequently, regularly. And the rarely used / (one time) use applications must be uninstalled.
• Please take the Personal Data and Privacy seriously as it’s very crucial in all terms.

Here are some examples of common mistakes:

• User provides all the permissions, during installation to the pop-up right after downloading the app.
• Installs apps which have no real meaning apart from flooding your phone with random ads and other disturbances.
• Uses malicious security / scanning apps and provide root access to it, overriding the device permissions and making it more vulnerable for respective seekers.

This article is for creating awareness among the users and the developers for the clean and safe environment for the ever-growing digital ecosystem, every user must be aware of the device functionality and the optimum usability of the applications installed. This Android ecosystem has to learn a lot from Apple ecosystem (App Store) and improve by implementing rigid laws. The use cases remain same, but the Data Privacy & Security is the first priority.