Personal data: what do apps collect about you?
Be able to give examples of data that apps collect about yourself and explain why it matters.
Prerequisites
- BData in everyday liferequired
Everyday explanation
When you use an app, data about you is collected. Often more than you are aware of:
- What you do: which videos you watch, for how long, what you skip.
- Where you are: location from your phone.
- Who you are: age, name, email, who you follow.
- Your device: model, language, when you are awake.
Why? Partly so the app works, and partly to recommend things — and to sell ads that suit you.
Intuition
Why it matters:
- Data about you can follow you to other companies and remain for many years.
- Recommendations can steer what you see — you get more of what you have already watched.
- Data can leak during breaches.
Three habits: check the app’s settings to see what is shared, turn off location when it is not needed, and think before you enter other people’s details.
You also have rights: in Sweden and the EU, you can ask a company what data it has about you and request that it be deleted (GDPR).
Mastery means
- Gives three examples of data that apps collect
- Explains why collected data matters
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Sources
- IMY — Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten — myndighetsmaterial
- Swedish Media Council (in Swedish) — myndighetsmaterial