Weekly Security Tip: Review Apps On Your Phone

I have one too many phones, and I spend a considerable amount of time using them every day. I try to make use of most of that time, but with all that's been going around in the world this year, I spent more time browsing memes and watching videos than I care to admit.

Phones are an integral part of our life; we use them to take pictures, write journals, browse social media, work on our tasks, and even have important work meetings or edit sensitive documents. The amount of data we store on our phones is astounding. Data about us, our friends, family, work and much more. In this blog, I share with you one habit I developed over the years, and that's reviewing apps on my phones every month or so.

Clean Your Phone On A Schedule

This habit is pretty easy to build over a short time and requires minimal effort. Every month, set aside 30-60 minutes and use that time to go through the apps on your phone(s). If you haven't used an app once in the past 30 days, then chances you don't need it, uninstall these apps.

Why?

• Reduce your attack surface (fewer apps might correlate to fewer vulnerabilities and security issues).
• Fewer privacy worries to keep you awake at night.
• Reduce the time you spend on your phone (hopefully?).
• Having fewer apps can improve your phone performance and battery life.
• Might help you focus better (works for me).

FAQs

• What if I need it tomorrow? You won't, but if you do, the app store is one click away.
• What if I miss out on something important or funny? There is a good chance you won't miss anything.
• I paid for this app, why should I pay again? You won't. If you bought it, then you can reinstall it at no cost.