Either I'm Paranoid or These Apps Are Traps

11 years ago

Today's Chicago Tribune has an article on 'useful apps'. Am I the only one who sees some serious 'downsides' to these?

BillGuard tracks your spending and monitors your accounts. (Do you want a phalanx of anonymous employees to have access to your bank accounts?)

MyCarLocator can find where you parked your car, using GPS. (And the guy who steals your phone at the mall can also steal your car while he's at it.)

Dashlane remembers all your log-in information. (That would be the log-in's and passwords to all your personal accounts? Someone would only have to break ONE password to access everything you do online?)

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Comments (14)

rob333 (zone 7b)
11 years ago
I'll just say I'd never use them. Ever. If that's paranoid, so be it. I totally agree with you.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
11 years ago
I don't use any of those types of apps I don't have any need for them.
I never use password apps or programs.
I have very few apps actually. I went through the try lots of apps phase when I first started using tablets and phone but currently I have just a very few good ones that I know are safe and well known.

When I am setting up new tablets for people I don't over load the apps and warn them about that too.
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ravencajun Zone 8b TX
11 years ago
I don't use any of those types of apps I don't have any need for them.
I never use password apps or programs.
I have very few apps actually. I went through the try lots of apps phase when I first started using tablets and phone but currently I have just a very few good ones that I know are safe and well known.

When I am setting up new tablets for people I don't over load the apps and warn them about that too.
Elmer J Fudd
11 years ago
I won't call you paranoid, but I think your concerns are unfounded. Yes, most apps are worthless. But many are terrific and quite useful.

Those who are concerned about "protecting their privacy" haven't been paying attention, plenty of information about everyone is readily available. Most people who work with personal information do so for (what their businesses consider to be) legitimate reasons, they really could care less about the people such data relates to.
lucillle
11 years ago
As someone who has from time to time forgotten where exactly she has parked her car at a mall, I am not understanding the dangers of the GPS app. How would knowing where your car was make it any easier or more desirable to steal than the other cars parked at the mall? The app doesn't unlock the car, it merely locates it.
But I share your concern about Dashlane and Billguard.
sleeperblues
11 years ago
I deleted facebook messenger from my phone for that very reason. Facebook would have access to all of my contacts, and what else? Now I can't see messages on my phone, they tell me I have to install messenger. No thanks
emma
11 years ago
I just hit the alarm button on my remote if I can't find my car. LOL I wouldn't use those apps either.
Elmer J Fudd
11 years ago
I'm with you, Lucille, I'm a big fan of the app Find My Car.

Not only to find my car in a big parking lot (like at a sporting event) , although it does that very well. Also to find my way back to a hotel or other starting point when I'm exploring a city I don't know well. Or to find my way to the right exit from a large mall. Or to get back to my car after taking a hike.

No one is so bored or thinks there's an income opportunity, to expect that knowing where I am is of any use. If there's someone who wants to waste their time with that, great!
socks
11 years ago
I don't get apps just to have a collection, only get those which I truly feel I would use. As for the car, I always make note of signs, trees, etc. after parking. Yes, I've lost my car before; lesson learned!
rob333 (zone 7b)
11 years ago
heh, socks you remind me. I thought I'd teach that lesson to my son fairly early on. I think he was around 8 or 9. He came to work with me one day and I told him it was his responsibility to keep up with where I parked the car. When it came time to go back to the car, he got very confused, very quickly. I said, what if something happened to me What would you do? Ironically, he has never had trouble since!

Too bad it doesn't work as well for me. What is somewhat irksome? When they make every row in the lot look the same. Then, it's not the row with the yellow flowers, it's the second row with yellow flowers. I should create a landscaping service that makes parking lots easier to navigate.
User
11 years ago
I haven't heard about those apps in particular, but there are some apps that give out way too much information.

I try to park in the same area every time I go to the store. If I go to a mall, I park so I can walk in through the same store each time. If I buy stuff and need to put it in the vehicle, I move the vehicle to a second location so I don't get broken into by someone who saw me put the bags in. I use the same pattern of stores every time.

At the airport or some place like Disneyworld, I take a picture of the lot info with my cell phone.
chisue
Original Author
11 years ago
Lucille -- Locks don't stop a car thief. If he knows the owner is inside the mall, he knows he won't be interrupted.

I can only think of one time that I couldn't find my car in a lot. I was searching for *my* car, and I'd used my DH's that day!

Marshall Field's (now Macy's) Chicago State Street store is in two separate buildings and fills a city block. The buildings are connected on most floors, but not all floors. It has many entrances and multiple floors -- lots of elevators and escalators. (If you've watched "Mr. Selfridge" and seen documentaries on Selfridge's, you have an idea of the size and style; Field's is bigger.)

When I was a girl, my mother would have me 'guide' her to various places in the store. Later, she'd leave me in one department and tell me to meet her in, for instance, The 28 Shop. (Different floors; different buildings.) I'm sure she watched and followed me at first, but I became a good navigator. I was also the map-reading navigator when we took road trips.

I've met a lot of women who seem to have no directional or spacial sense. One of my friends claims she can get lost going around the block. (I've seen her struggle to find the door by which she entered a building.

I'm not 'anti-apps'. These seemed to *invite* trouble.
User
11 years ago
I haven't heard about those apps in particular, but there are some apps that give out way too much information.

I try to park in the same area every time I go to the store. If I go to a mall, I park so I can walk in through the same store each time. If I buy stuff and need to put it in the vehicle, I move the vehicle to a second location so I don't get broken into by someone who saw me put the bags in. I use the same pattern of stores every time.

At the airport or some place like Disneyworld, I take a picture of the lot info with my cell phone.
tami_ohio
11 years ago
Sleeperblues, I go thru the safari browser to go to face book messanger, instead of the face book app. I still use the app for most of my face book usage, just not for messages. You could do the same with what ever the internet connection is for your phone.

Either I'm Paranoid or These Apps Are Traps

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rob333 (zone 7b)

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

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Either I'm Paranoid or These Apps Are Traps

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