Tag: apps
Are Apps Software?
Apps are to software as snakes are to reptiles.
By that text above you probably got the answer already but we wanted to break it down even further. Snakes are reptiles, and reptiles are snakes…and lizards…and turtles… and crocodiles.
Apps are software and software is apps…mobile apps…web apps…programs.
We had to clarify the difference between mobile and web apps because frankly there is one. A mobile app is a software that is used on a mobile device such as a phone. A web app is a software that is used on a device with access to a website. Phones act as computers nowadays so sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between the two.
Most commonly your mobile app is one of the squares on your phone with round corners.
You may not even realize you’re using a web app. You might just think you’re on a website (and you’re not wrong). The web app allows a user to interact with the website in a way that a normal website can’t. Think PayPal or Venmo. Those are web apps within websites (and they’re mobile apps as well).
Sometimes for the sake of differentiation, it’s easier to just say app when referring to software on your phone and websites for software on the web. Just know, that apps are software and snakes are reptiles.
Are Apps Safer Than Websites?
Is using an app guaranteed safe? Why or why not? Read below to find out.
When you download an app you might have to pay for it. The app is run through Apple’s Store so it’s probably safe right?
Maybe. When was the last time that you checked to see who the author or developer of the app was? Are they reputable? Are they a company? An individual?
When you downloaded then loaded an app, what information were you asked to provide? Were you asked for an email? A phone number? How about a home address?
Believe it or not, all of the above has been asked within apps in the past. Sometimes this info is taken without you knowing it.
Questioning the fact that an app knows where you live?
Do you happen to allow location tracking with any of your apps? If you do, more than likely you go home to sleep at night correct? Do you think that the app doesn’t recognize where you go every day? Or where you are when you are using it? That’s the whole point of location tracking after all isn’t it? To track you?
Now let’s talk about websites. When you visit a website there are these things called “cookies”. These should be called bread crumbs. You recall Hansel and Gretel right?
To explain cookies simply, when you visit a website that has cookies enabled they are able to see where you go from that website. At each new website you visit thereafter, you leave a breadcrumb. Those websites can then use that data to target you and the others that visited their website with new information and new data. You’re basically leaving a trail for them to follow.
So are apps safer than websites? No. They might track you or your information a little differently than a website, but that doesn’t make them safer. It doesn’t necessarily make them unsafe either. You just need to be aware and judicious of what information you are providing.
If you’re bored and want to know the kind of information an app collects, try reading the privacy agreement in the app store. It’s quite…informative.
Or if you don’t feel like reading all that fancy jargon give us a call at 208 344 1115, or shoot us an email at hello@matraex.com. We’d love to break down app security versus website security for you.
Are Apps Free In 2022?
Free apps? They might not be as “free” as you think.
Are apps free to download in 2022? Yes. There most certainly are free to download apps out there. Check out the screenshot from our phone.
Do you see the word “GET” there? Those apps are free to download. Now, check out the first app on the list, “A Musical Story” it costs $4.99 to download. That’s a paid app. But, if you look a little closer under the “free” apps you will see “In-App Purchases”. Are they really free?
Your “free” app could just be a trial
You might be able to download the app for free but that doesn’t always mean you will have access to all of the main features. Sometimes it will be a 7-day trial. Sometimes you can only play the first level of a game. Sometimes you get the whole app for free. Sometimes.
Your powerbill will reflect the cost
Researchers at the University of Southern California, the Rochester Institute of Technology and Queen’s University did a study on phone usage found that phone apps with ads use 16% more energy. This translates to 1.7 cents every time a user used the app based on a per MB charge by AT&T. So if you are the type of person that plays on your phone throughout the day, your “free” app is actually costing you.
Do you consider your data free?
In 2018 Semantic did a study on 100 free apps in the Google Play Store and the data that they were able to gather on their users. Here’s some numbers:
45% had users’ locations tracked
46% had access to a user’s camera
25% could record audio
10% got your phone log
4% had user addresses
If you put a price on this kind of information would you really call it “free”?
You might want to check your data usage
with your phone carrier
Free doesn’t mean that it doesn’t use cellular data. If you don’t pay for unlimited data free apps might cost you, and if you pay for unlimited because of all of your “free” apps, they already are.
The Verdict?
So are apps free in 2022? Sure if it says “GET” that app is free to download. But is it really free? We’ll let you be the judge.