5 Reasons Why Free Apps Are Not Safe For You

In this part of the world, people are so much interested in free stuffs, be it free browsing, free WiFi, free airtime, free phone, free T-fair, free school, free clubs, in fact almost everything tagged 'free' to the extent of abusing it. Some of these free apps are not safe for you.

Android Apps


Most people prefer to download free apps from Google playstore, iTunes and Windows store, thinking it's the perfect decision but the bitter truth is this, nothing is perfect on earth and anything that have advantages equally boasts of some disadvantages in it. In the app world, most of the apps we download and use every day are free. They have no cash price placed on them. However, unknowing to me and you, we are indirectly suffering and even paying for the so called apps so below i will show you the reasons.

1. YOUR PRIVACY IN DANGER

Unfortunately, many people are ignorant of the fact that some free apps collect their data for marketing purposes. The worst part is people always fail to read app Terms and Conditions (TC) before installing it. By so doing, these app collects your data which get sent to servers around the world and get analysed and sold, exposing you to some measure of exposure that you may not desire. Now ask yourself why you receive unsolicited sms and email from unknown people. How did they get your contact and even your name? This is actually the main cause of that.

2. YOUR BATTERY DRAINS FASTER

Though not all apps are guilty of this but those apps with ads are. According to report from Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the United States and Queen’s University, it was revealed that ad-supported apps use up to 16 percent more energy than apps without ads. This would reduce the battery life on a typical phone by up to 40 minutes. Also, a study carried out by Microsoft discovered that on apps like Angry Birds, 45 percent of the consumed energy is taken by location services trying to figure out your location, so it can decide which ads you should see.

3. MOBILE DATA CONSUMPTION INCREASES

It is not magic or exaggeration but the simple fact is ad-supported apps also drain huge amounts of data. You might be wondering why your MB (data) drains so fast on android phones, this is actually one of the reasons. These apps can use up to 100 percent more data than ad-free apps. On average, they use 79 percent more network data. Examples include apps that require you to watch shot videos to unlock features.

4. POOR PERFORMANCE

Have you ever experienced a situation when ads starts popping out and displaying annoying adverts on your phone screen? That's the unwelcome invitation from Ad-supported apps which also posses bad effect on phone performance. When an app runs ads on the top of your screen, it takes up an average of 48 percent more processing time, 22 percent memory usage and 46 percent CPU utilization. This is quite problematic if your smartphone has low memory. You know what i mean.

5. HIDDEN CONNECTIONS

Though Google Play Store is regarded as one of the safest places to download apps but that doesn't guarantee total l safety. A lot of free apps on the Play Store have secret connections to different internet addresses. Some of these connections are useful while most of them are just harmful.

So if you are so addicted to downloading and using free apps, remember safety first. Make sure the app don't have ads so at to be sure it's safe for you.