Two storms should sweep across the Federal Republic. There is even talk of red alert. The reports on severe weather warnings and the risk of hurricanes are piling up accordingly. weather apps are a great help in such cases to keep you up to date. However, one specimen below is classified as extremely risky. the Deleting the app is therefore recommended.
Delete the weather app now: Experts think little of one
The experts of the consumer portal mobilsicher.de draw attention to a very specific weather app. Although it has been downloaded millions of times, it should be used with caution. Once installed, it is able to track your movement: “AccuWeather: Weather Radar & Local Temperatures” (AccuWeather).
How popular and therefore all the more dangerous it is is shown by the current download numbers. So far, she was solely from the Google Play Store Downloaded over 100 million times. After all, users rate it with 4.1 out of five stars.
The experts from mobilsicher.de explain why you should still delete the app in their AppChecker: “With this app, we estimate the risk for your privacy to be very high”. They can therefore “only advise against” using it.
The verdict is correspondingly harsh, as AccuWeather is rated on the platform with a privacy score of 5. This stands for “very problematic” and is used, among other things, when “third-party providers read the location of the device together with a unique identification number”. From this, movement profiles can be created.
This Makes AccuWeather “Very Problematic”
In the specific case of AccuWeather, the experts complain that Amazon Inc. received location data in the test as soon as the app was granted access to it. In addition, one or more identification numbers were recorded, for example the advertising ID.
This makes it possible to link the data with existing data collections, movement profiles and draw conclusions about individual people. Overall, the application should also contact nine third-party providers. In order not to become so visible, you should delete the app if you use it.
Attention, deleting these apps can also be worthwhile
AccuWeather isn’t the only problematic weather app. Experts recently reported that the Android app “Weather Home” can take over cell phones unnoticed. Other programs come with dangerous Joker malware and can even steal your money. This includes eight Android apps that you should delete.
Tip for more security: When it comes to Messenger, the Signal app is considered “the best we have”.
Sources: mobilsicher.de, own research