Get Tech Support Now - (818) 584-6021 - C2 Technology Partners, Inc.

Get Tech Support Now - (818) 584-6021 - C2 Technology Partners, Inc.

C2 provides technology services and consultation to businesses and individuals.

T (818) 584 6021
Email: info@c2techs.net

C2 Technology Partners, Inc.
26500 Agoura Rd, Ste 102-576, Calabasas, CA 91302

Open in Google Maps
QUESTIONS? CALL: 818-584-6021
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • SERVICES
    • Encryption
    • Backups
  • ABOUT
    • Privacy Policy
FREECONSULT
Tuesday, 24 August 2021 / Published in Woo on Tech

Should you limit what you do with your phone?

Today’s smartphones are incredibly powerful. If you are savvy enough, and determined, you could probably do a good portion of your office job and manage most, if not all of your personal life just via a late model smartphone. Even someone like me can do a significant amount of work via smartphone. The tools are there, and the screen is just big enough to make it possible with some squinting and finger cramping, but I only do it in an emergency when I don’t have access to better tools or platforms. For most of you, email, video conferencing and phone conversations cover a large chunk of your professional life, and when you add in the social media apps, you’ve got the bases covered. But should you be using your smartphone for anything other than for what it was originally designed?

Should you be getting off my lawn?

I’ll admit it, I’ve definitely become much more conservative *gasp* when it comes to considering where technology intersects with our personal lives, especially as it pertains to privacy. Back when I had a full head of hair and maybe less brains, I fell firmly into the “what do you have to hide” category of privacy, but that was before our data was essentially and mercilessly monetized with zero regard for the consequences. And after it was purposefully gathered, categorized and analyzed, it was carelessly and unapologetically leaked repeatedly, where it could again be gathered, exploited and manipulated by folks with even less care for ethics or humanity in general. While most of us haven’t been significantly damaged individually by this in any way we can quantify, the merciless monetization of our data has definitely been to the detriment of society in general. While it might feel usefully prescient that Amazon seems to know exactly what you need when you visit their website, I’m betting you start feeling a little unsettled when every other website you visit thereafter also seems to know what you’re shopping for, like you just stepped into the Twilight Zone, or Black Mirror, for the younger generations. Whether you like it or not, the breakthrough in data gathering was courtesy of rise of the smartphone and its cornucopia of useful apps. For every function of your professional and personal life that you pursue with your cellphone, the carriers and app makers and their data-hungry customers gather oodles of telemetry about you – where you shop, what social and political beliefs you peruse and pursue, what kind of foods you like, what games you play, on and on. People view smartphones as a window to the world, but don’t forget that windows work both ways, and you are providing stark, unexpurgated view of your life to folks who only see you as a profit center.

Full disclosure: On top of email, texting and phone calls, I do no small amount of social media lurking (though not posting), GPS navigation, music listening and a little shopping here and there on my smartphone. I’ve made my peace (for now) with the Faustian deal I make in trade for services I (and my clients) find incredibly useful, and to be extremely clear, even I don’t know to what extent my data has been harvested, exploited and monetized, but I like to think I’m going into it as clear-eyed as one can be in this day and age. Should we be considering this a reasonable tradeoff? Would you be willing to pay for services you use for free right if it meant you had more control over your data? Do you even care? Even I don’t know how to answer these questions right now.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Tweet
Tagged under: privacy, smartphones

What you can read next

LastPass hacked!
LastPass Hacked – Change your master password
Android in the crosshairs again
Up to 900M Android phones vulnerable via newly discovered bugs
Backup
Plan on Hard Drive Failure

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Social Media monetizes our need to be social

    Part of our occasional series “The Elepha...
  • Freemail accounts will be hacked

    Most of you know that I do not recommend using ...
  • LastPass Breach is bad news for everyone

    Late in the year, just in time for the holidays...
  • 2023 – Approach with Caution

    Traditionally I like my year-end messages to be...
  • Privacy sign

    Popular tax apps leaked your data to Facebook

    While it shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of...

Archives

  • GET SOCIAL
Get Tech Support Now - (818) 584-6021 - C2 Technology Partners, Inc.

© 2016 All rights reserved.

TOP