"It's an incredible concern," said Gary Miliefsky, the CEO of US cybersecurity firm Snoopwall.
Many free apps like flashlight apps, children's games and even the Bible are designed to mine and sell a person's private information.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OnGvlsuSeM
The Application Developers Alliance, a trade association, said that app developers "are doing a remarkable maintenance job, maintaining consumers' trust and securing their data," including adding features to protect anonymity and privacy. The group said, however, that consumers must also protect themselves.
Experts advise smartphone owners to read the permissions before loading an app and not to download anything that http://cellphones.about.com/od/smartphonebasics/a/what_is_smart.htm asks for access it doesn't need. Also, do some spring cleaning occasionally and uninstall any apps that go unused. And finally, experts said, consider paid apps that often ask for fewer permissions than the free ones.
