There are many apps on Google's Play Store that can be dangerous to use, which is why you should scrutinize the permissions that each app requires before installing it. Some apps cross the line by installing malware on your smartphone that can compromise all of your personal data (including username and passwords you enter on your phone). A good example of this type of infiltration is through a simple flashlight app used by hundreds of millions of unsuspecting people. Brightest Flashlight Free and Super-Bright LED Flashlight are just two of the many flashlight apps available on Google's Play Store that require too many permissions and installs malware. If you'd like more proof, read the "FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges Against Flashlight App Creator".

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Requiring Unnecessary Permissions

Special Report

What Flashlight App Do I Use?

That includes the sites you visit, credit card information entered or saved on different sites, location data, usernames and passwords. Each phone has a unique identification number, or MAC address, which the drone uses to tie the traffic to the device. -Erika Fink 

Euclid taps smartphone WiFi to track you.

When you walk into a brick and mortar retail store like a Nordstrom, Cabela, or even Family Dollar, you're being tracked around the store. Not by an over-suspicious security guard, but by the store's wireless network, using your phone's Wi-Fi. The store then uses your phone to track you around the store, determine if you're a repeat visitor, see what departments you visit, and more. -Alan Henry

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As we mentioned, the way this data collection works is that it compares your online data with offline shopping habits. So, the easiest solution to keep it from happening? Don't use the same phone number or email address on your Facebook account as you do when you sign up for loyalty or discount cards. -Thorin Klosowski

I'm lurking in the shadows, tracking your movement.

Our clients were huge companies and one of the services we offered was to collect information about people, their demographics, income, and habits, and then roll it up so they could get a complete picture about who you are and how to convince you to buy their products. In some cases, we designed web sites and campaigns to convince you to provide even more information in exchange for a coupon, discount, or the simple promise of other of those. It works very, very well. -Alan Henry

They're watching you're every move.

Essentially, by using these apps, just reading an article, listening to a song, or watching a video, you're sending information to Facebook which can then be automatically shared with your friends or added to your profile, and Facebook doesn't ask for your permission to do it. -Alan Henry