Smartphone Apps: Is Your Privacy Protected? Essay Example

Smartphones have become such a universal part of daily life, it is difficult to know their real value.  People depend on them constantly, so little thought is given to what may go against their usage.  When all the realities are examined, however, it becomes clear that, even while they offer many advantages, there are as well drawbacks to smartphones.

To begin with, there can be no refuting that smartphones provide users with an enormous range of abilities. From instantly checking on a location to making an emergency call, smartphones enable personal empowerment to an unprecedented level (Badiru, Racz 63).  In business and personal matters, these combined phones and Internet devices allow for information and communication at any time.

At the same time, there are concerns. As users upload applications, they endanger their own privacy: “Researchers warn that a surprisingly high percentage of smartphone apps may threaten your privacy” (Gralla, Sacco, & Faas).  The apps collect all kinds of individual information, financial and in identity terms, and users are then vulnerable to criminality.

Then, many are annoyed by how people violate public spaces with private, smartphone calls and activities.  This goes as well to changes in behavior moving away from traditional courtesy; it is not unusual, for example, for someone to interrupt a “real” conversation to take a call or read a text (Newman 106).

Smartphones then present real issues. They are greatly valuable and allow for constant communication and information access. The disadvantages, however, are as important as the advantages.

Works Cited

Badiru, Adedeji B., & Racz, LeeAnn. Handbook of Emergency Response: A Human Factors and Systems Engineering Approach.  Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. Print.

Gralla, Preston, Sacco, Al, & Faas, Ryan. “Smartphone apps: Is your privacy protected?” ComputerWorld. 7 July 2011.  Web. 28 Dec. 2014. <http://www.computerworld.com/article/2509878/data-privacy/smartphone-apps–is-your-privacy-protected-.html

Newman, David M. Sociology:Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2013. Print.