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Security tip: The right way to clean out your smartphone apps
The word audit usually drums up feelings of anxiety. Nobody wants others poking into their business. However, when it comes to your phone, an audit might be your best path to privacy.
The process is simple. Go through each of your apps and ask yourself one question: “Do I really need this?” Tap or click here for five apps you should delete from your device.
But it’s not as simple as just uninstalling apps you don’t use anymore. You must take a few vital steps to delete apps correctly and protect your privacy. We’ll walk you through it.
Why is an app audit important?
An app audit is a good idea for a few reasons. The most basic is to free up space on your phone, which will keep it running smoothly and give you more room to store photos, videos, apps and files.
You’ll also spend less time scrolling through a bunch of stuff to get what you need. Tap or click here for steps on freeing up even more space by deleting duplicate photos.
An app audit also reduces the risk of security issues. The more apps you have, the more at risk you are. If one gets hacked, your data ends up in the wrong hands.
Here’s where to start
Scroll through your apps and note which ones you rarely use or don’t use. Do you have two or three apps that perform the same function? What about the one you downloaded for a free drink five years ago?
Aside from picking out the apps you don’t use, highlight the ones you use daily. When you wake up, what are the first ones you open? In your head or on paper, make a list of apps you would like to keep and those that can be tossed.
Your iPhone can help if you’re not sure where to start. To get a detailed view of your app activity and what you use most, go to Settings > Screen Time > See All Activity. Scroll down to see your most-used apps with how much time you spend on each.
To see how much data your apps use, go to Settings > Cellular. Scroll down to see how much data each app uses. To see which apps are seriously mooching off your battery, go to Settings > Battery. Select Last 24 hours or Last 10 Days. Scroll down to see battery usage by app.
If you’re on an Android, tap Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Dashboard to view screen times for each app. To view data usage, go to Settings > Network & internet > Data usage. Check out the battery usage by going to Settings > Battery.
Do this before you uninstall
You’re ready for the next step once you have identified the time, battery and data-hogging culprits. No, you won’t be deleting anything quite yet. Many apps contain your personal information, which needs to be taken care of first.
Log in to each app and navigate to the page or menu that lets you deactivate or delete your account. Some services make this step more difficult by requiring you to access them from a desktop browser or even contact the company via email or phone to drop your account. If you can’t find a way to take this step, you may need to reach out anyway.
There are ways to make your disappearing act easier. Justdelete.me has links to the pages you need to remove yourself from a site or app. Tap or click here for steps on how to use this handy resource.
Now it’s time to clean house.
On iPhone:
- Touch and hold an app, then tap Remove App > Delete App > Delete.
- You can also use the App Library, introduced in iOS 14, to get a curated list of your apps grouped by category. Swipe past the last page of your Home screen to access it. Tap and hold the app, then select Delete App > Delete.
On Android:
- Long-press an app, then tap App Info > Uninstall.
- Go to Settings > Apps & Notifications to see a list of your apps and delete them the same way.
- Or you can open the Google Play Store app and navigate to Menu > My apps & games. Tap on the app and hit Uninstall.
- Note: Samsung and OnePlus phones have an Uninstall option under the app shortcuts menu.
Don’t forget to check permissions
Following the big cleanse, there’s one more thing you should do to protect your privacy even more. Each of your remaining apps has certain permissions, such as access to your contact list, location, camera, microphone and more.
In some cases, these permissions are necessary for the app to function how you want it to, but not always. Does that table reservation app really need access to your microphone? Follow these steps to take away that privilege.
RELATED: Tap or click here for more tips on cleaning your phone inside and out.
You can restrict privileges for each app you use.
On iPhone:
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security to see a list of permissions, including Camera and Microphone, Tracking and Location Services. Go through each setting to toggle each app’s access on or off as you see fit. For example, if you don’t want Facebook to have access to your camera, tap Camera and slide the toggle to the left next to Facebook to turn it off.
On Android:
- Navigate to Settings > Apps & notifications > App permissions for a list of permissions available on your smartphone.
A glut of unused apps leaves your phone cluttered and less secure. When in doubt, take it out!
Tags: Android, Apple iPhone, apps, battery/batteries, clean, data, data usage, delete, delete apps, Google, permissions, phone, privacy, security, smartphone apps, smartphones, tips and tricks, uninstall
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