Click a setting on your smartphone when you leave the house (Image: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
Your smartphone is as indispensable as your house keys or wallet, often serving multiple roles such as holding secure passes, cash, and keeping you connected through messaging apps like Whatsapp and social media. Some of us even use their smartphones to make actual phone calls.
However, the Android or or bag is not just a tool for navigating the modern world – it could also be revealing secrets about you every time you step outside the house. And there’s one (Infosec) experts say we should be switching off when we leave our homes or workplaces.
They now reccommend disabling your WiFi whenever you’re away from trusted connections. Switching it off prevents your device from talking to untrustworthy networks, safeguards your personal data, and makes it more difficult for apps, services, and tech giants to track your location and monitor your interests and purchases.
What you might not realise or consider during your daily routine is that having your WiFi constantly enabled means it’s always searching for networks to connect to. And your phone is not choosy – it’s scanning and interacting with all kids of open networks, operated by who knows who and for purposes you wouldn’t want to guess about.
WiFi, while convenient, can be a double-edged sword as it allows for easy location tracking . This includes details such as your frequented locations, activities at these places, and even who is nearby.
Over time, your mobile device accumulates a vast amount of personal information that could potentially be exploited by hackers or used by marketers to target ads directly at you. This data is also a goldmine for data harvesters who collect and sell information about millions of people daily, reports .
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Security experts recommend disabling WiFi when not in range of trusted networks like home, work, or college, and regularly clearing out saved networks on your phone. Connecting manually when necessary can reduce the risk of automatically linking to unsecured or malicious networks, thereby keeping your digital footprint less visible.
In today’s world where data is akin to currency, sometimes the smartest move d until you actually need Wi-Fi. Android users should note that simply turning off Wi-Fi and forgetting saved networks may not be sufficient as many Android devices use Bluetooth for location tracking.
This means your phone could still be pinging nearby devices and revealing your whereabouts, even when Wi-Fi is off.
To maintain control, delve into your settings and check under ‘Location’ or ‘Bluetooth’ to see which features are active. From there, you can decide just how much freedom your phone actually needs.
This should be done with , ensuring only the essential ones are enabled. Unless an app truly needs to know where you are, it’s best to keep that info on a need-to-know basis.
If you’re someone who does a lot of roaming and data downloading – and needs to connect to public networks – you might want to consider paying a small subscription for a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN encrypts your internet connection, making it much harder for anyone to intercept your data.
Trusted providers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer mobile apps that are easy to use. Some smartphones, such as Google’s Pixel series, even include built-in VPN services at no extra cost.