Hard to believe now but not so long ago people used phones primarily to call each other. Strange, huh?

Today many of us depend on our phones to take care of everyday tasks like waking up on time, keeping track of how many steps we take or calories we are consuming, sharing photos and updates. You can even book cinema tickets whilst on the move.

Fewer people are coming into gyms clutching the latest workout that they’ve ripped out of that month’s copy of  ‘Muscle and Fitness’ magazine. Now it seems that pen and paper have been replaced by the mobile phone installed with the latest fitness app.

In a report from 2014 the fitness app market was the fastest growing with an increase of 67% over a 6 month period, pretty impressive statistics and quite possibly a lot higher now.

The rise in popularity seems to have coincided with the likes of the FitBit and other versions which are more and more commonplace now with Samsung, Apple and other big manufacturers coming up with their own personal trackers.

With many mobile phone apps it’s not just whether they make you more hench or slimmer but the not often ask question – are they safe? I am not referring to technique but rather their security. When you open these apps they will often ask a for a lot of permissions and then for details about you. It soon becomes apparent that these apps seem to know more about you than your closest friend! We’re all too familiar with Facebook and the constant advertising you get from sites that you have visited but what about the humble fitness app?

On one of my previous posts I looked at some of the positives on the FitBit, this time I took a look at some of the facts about the trackers and the numerous fitness apps and they make interesting reading

• Many health and fitness applications collect a great deal of personal information. Apps may prompt users to enter a name, email address, age, gender, height, weight, and photo. They may also ask for lifestyle information. For example, the app may ask questions about food consumption and exercise habits.
• Mobile applications, especially apps that you download for free, depend on advertising to make money. They may share personally identifiable information with advertisers, or allow ad networks to track you. Almost all applications send de-identified (non-personal) data about how you use an application to data analytics services. If an application collects your UDID (universal device ID) or embeds a unique ID in the application you download, de-identified analytics data can be tracked back to you personally.
• Many mobile applications have poor security. Although they may have a privacy policy that says they protect the privacy and confidentiality of your information, more often than not, they transmit it unencrypted and over insecure network connections—HTTP, rather than HTTPS.

Fitness wearable’s are in great shape when it comes to collecting your health data: Heart rate, sleep patterns, steps taken per day, calories burned, weight gain or loss, stress levels, even your location but they are in poor shape when it comes to protecting that data and keeping it private.

The makers of fitness trackers – the biggest names are Samsung, Fitbit, Apple, Nike, Sony and LG – generally stress their commitment to privacy, and say they do not “sell” the data they collect. But, as numerous experts note, selling is not the same as sharing or protecting. Theresa Payton, president and CEO of Fortalice and a former White House CIO, said fitness wearable’s and associated apps, “have a track record of poor privacy and security measures.

 

So are all apps bad? Should we avoid them?

Here are some great tips to making the apps enjoyable and safe courtesy of Norton Security:

https://community.norton.com/blogs/norton-protection-blog/how-protect-yourself-cyberstalkers

So, how do you keep your tracked data safe from these kinds of vulnerabilities that our researchers found? They provided some tips to help keep your information private and secure:

In order to thwart location stalkers when you’re using a wearable device, make sure that you do not include any personally identifiable information, such as your own name. Think of an alias that motivates you. “HalfTigerHalfUnicorn” is a lot more fun than “Sue Smith” anyway, right??Additionally, turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when these devices are not being used to transmit data to the app.

Mitigate the risk of your password being compromised by choosing a complex password unique for this service. Check out our article on how to create strong passwords if you’re stuck.?Don’t reuse the same password for multiple devices and applications. If a cybercriminal were to gain access to one of these accounts, they could gain access to all of them.

Always check the privacy policy of the apps you download to make sure that you know how your data is being used. If there is no privacy policy available for the app, it is strongly encouraged not to download the app, as you will have no idea what data is being collected and how it is being used.

When using a mobile phone or tablet to store this data, use a screen lock and password on the device.

Be aware of what data the device or app wants to use on your phone. If it seems illogical, such as a running app requesting access to your contacts, deny the permission. 

Use caution when using social sharing with these apps. Social sharing features can give away your location and when you were doing your workout. Cybercriminals can use this to track your movements, which could lead to a potential cyber stalking issue. If you choose to share this data on social media, check your security settings on the account and be sure that it is only shared with trusted friends and family.

Or, the best way of avoiding a bad fitness app – Hire a Personal trainer from AMC Training ;-)