-
After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.
Privacy protector
- Thread starter Maxxcyber
- Start date
Do you mean the app lock app (PIN protect apps), or something else?
If it's the app lock thing, the answer surely is "if you lock all apps that can access sensitive data, if your concern is people physically accessing your phone, and if they can't guess your PIN". It obviously won't stop a dodgy app which has access to private data from uploading that elsewhere. So it depends what privacy threats you are trying to block.
If it's the app lock thing, the answer surely is "if you lock all apps that can access sensitive data, if your concern is people physically accessing your phone, and if they can't guess your PIN". It obviously won't stop a dodgy app which has access to private data from uploading that elsewhere. So it depends what privacy threats you are trying to block.
Actually I did search for "Privacy Protector" in the Play Store app on my phone, and was describing the first app returned with that name (and the only one on the first screen of results with that name).
Searching from a computer (when not logged in to Google) I did find a couple more, the third of which sounds like the one you are talking about - the second was something for cleaning up call logs and messages, and there were many more apps with neither word in their name that were listed higher in the search results. This merely confirms two well-known facts: (1) app names are not unique, and (2) the Play Store search is not all that good.
Anyway, to answer the question: I've never used it, so can't personally comment on how well it works or how reliable it is. I can imagine that it could be a right pain if it decides that an "untrusted" app is running when you want to use the network, and I notice that you have to manually re-enable the network afterwards. Also you need to decide which apps you don't trust - if you don't know that say CM Security is untrustworthy then it won't protect you against it (and that's not a hypothetical example, Cheetah Mobile apps are a definite threat to privacy). I do note that the average review score is not all that good though.
Personally if there was an app I didn't trust then I'd not allow it on my phone in the first place, rather than mess around with stuff like this. There are always alternative apps. Of course since I'm rooted I can also run a proper firewall, which would be a better solution than this app appears to be: if there's an app I don't want to have network access I can block it while allowing others to operate normally, rather than shutting down all network connections if that app appears to be active.
Bottom line: it's up to you, but assuming I'm discussing the correct app this time, it's not a solution that would appeal to me.
Searching from a computer (when not logged in to Google) I did find a couple more, the third of which sounds like the one you are talking about - the second was something for cleaning up call logs and messages, and there were many more apps with neither word in their name that were listed higher in the search results. This merely confirms two well-known facts: (1) app names are not unique, and (2) the Play Store search is not all that good.
Anyway, to answer the question: I've never used it, so can't personally comment on how well it works or how reliable it is. I can imagine that it could be a right pain if it decides that an "untrusted" app is running when you want to use the network, and I notice that you have to manually re-enable the network afterwards. Also you need to decide which apps you don't trust - if you don't know that say CM Security is untrustworthy then it won't protect you against it (and that's not a hypothetical example, Cheetah Mobile apps are a definite threat to privacy). I do note that the average review score is not all that good though.
Personally if there was an app I didn't trust then I'd not allow it on my phone in the first place, rather than mess around with stuff like this. There are always alternative apps. Of course since I'm rooted I can also run a proper firewall, which would be a better solution than this app appears to be: if there's an app I don't want to have network access I can block it while allowing others to operate normally, rather than shutting down all network connections if that app appears to be active.
Bottom line: it's up to you, but assuming I'm discussing the correct app this time, it's not a solution that would appeal to me.
I don't think the Play Store is giving us the same lists. Developer name is the best way to be unambiguous.
If a no root firewall works reliably, then yes, you could use that - an app can't share private data unless it can contact the network. Root-based firewalls tend to be better, but not everyone wants to root. Of course some apps may stop working at some point if they can't perform a license check, and some require the internet in order to do their jobs.
The best safeguard is to avoid apps which have permission to access private data but do not need that in order to do their jobs. That may just be lazy development (developer asks for every permission they can think of rather than work out what is needed), but is often a sign that they are up to no good (e.g. when a flashlight app wants permission to access phonebook, accounts and messages you shouldn't be surprised if they turn out to be data-mining). By all means take other precautions, but a bit of thought before installing is the first line of defence, anything else is just a backup.
If a no root firewall works reliably, then yes, you could use that - an app can't share private data unless it can contact the network. Root-based firewalls tend to be better, but not everyone wants to root. Of course some apps may stop working at some point if they can't perform a license check, and some require the internet in order to do their jobs.
The best safeguard is to avoid apps which have permission to access private data but do not need that in order to do their jobs. That may just be lazy development (developer asks for every permission they can think of rather than work out what is needed), but is often a sign that they are up to no good (e.g. when a flashlight app wants permission to access phonebook, accounts and messages you shouldn't be surprised if they turn out to be data-mining). By all means take other precautions, but a bit of thought before installing is the first line of defence, anything else is just a backup.
Last edited: