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How Much Do You Know About Apps and Privacy?

Take this quiz to find out

Linda Dono

En español

Published September 01, 2021

9 Questions

47ff2636-65c8-4fb6-a21d-959041ea9037

How Much Do You Know About Apps and Privacy?

[ {
  "question" : "How many apps, including games, are available in Apple's and Google's app stores?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "5 million",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "6.5 million",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "7.2 million",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "9 million",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Even though both Apple and Google have purged millions of apps from their stores in the past few years — for disruptive ads, inappropriate content, malware, outdated material or privacy problems — the two app stores still offered more than 7.2 million apps total as of November 2020, according to BusinessofApps, a website that caters to app industry professionals.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What's the fraction of apps that are free in the major app stores?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "More than half",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "More than two-thirds",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "More than three-quarters",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "More than nine-tenths",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Yes, more than 9 of every 10 apps on both the Apple App Store and Google Play are free to download. For Apple, it's 92.3 percent of all apps; for Google, it's 96.2 percent. But many of these free apps are free with an asterisk, known as “freemium” apps. Once you cross a line that's different for each app, you may be asked to pay for additional content or functionality. You'll have to decide if you get enough for free to keep an app on your phone.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What is the easiest way to protect your privacy when downloading apps?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Choose apps from the Apple App Store.",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Choose apps from Google Play.",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Choose apps from well-established companies.",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "All of the above",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Make sure to download apps from companies you know that are highly rated, well reviewed and have been around for more than a few weeks or months. That minimizes problems but doesn't guarantee safety. Nearly 2 percent of the top 1,000 apps in the Apple App Store in 2020 were scams, stealing $48 million from users, according to a 'Washington Post' analysis.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What are the two biggest concerns about free phone apps?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Hacking and privacy ",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Scams and fraud",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Ads and minimal free content",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Data minimization",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Both free and paid-for apps carry almost the same risks, experts tell AARP. But most malicious software applications end up on your phone when you click on links in spam texts and email, not from the two major apps stores. You give up some of your privacy — maybe your location, your phone's contact list or tracking when you have the app open — to make the software more useful to you. App developers often sell that data, sometimes aggregated and anonymized, sometimes not, to others to spot trends in consumer behavior or to advertise and market to you personally.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What is data minimization?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Keeping an app's digital footprint small so it won't take up much space on your smartphone",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Slowing down an app's speed so it can be used when cellphone reception is poor",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Limiting the collection of personal information so an app gathers only what's necessary to function well ",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "All of the above",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Different apps need different pieces of your personal information to do what you want them to do. “With a weather app, sharing your geo location is relevant and useful,” says cybercrime expert Troy Hunt, who works for Microsoft in Australia. “But sharing your contact data is excessive, not minimization.”",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What companies own several consistently popular free apps in the Apple and Google app stores?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Apple and Google",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Facebook and Google",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Amazon and Google",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Microsoft and Google",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Facebook not only owns its namesake app but through the years also has bought dozens of companies. The most recognizable are Instagram and WhatsApp, included on our list of free apps you probably have — or should. It also developed Facebook Messenger more than a decade ago. Although Google is known as the most popular search engine in the world and dominates browser use with Chrome, it also developed the world's most popular email app with Gmail, bought YouTube and turned it into the most popular video-sharing platform, created leading map app Google Maps and purchased the Waze navigation app. That means those companies have several ways to get to know you and your data.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Free apps such as Flush, GasBuddy and Waze get some of their information in what way?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Crowdfunding",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Crowdsourcing",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Crowdstorming",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "User-generated content (UGC)",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Some apps ask registered users to become their eyes and ears on the world, allowing them to update listings on public toilets, gas prices and even the location of police cars monitoring traffic. That's called crowdsourcing.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Why use an app instead of going to a website?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "The information or service is not available on a freestanding website.",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Apps can work faster and offer more personalization than websites.",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "You can access some material when you don't have an internet connection",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "All of the above",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Apps can be cool, useful, helpful and fun. But the most successful ones give you something, such as discounts or a personalized experience, that you can't get by going to a company's website. Some, such as AllTrails and Google Translate, allow you to download content to your phone so you can use the app when you have a weak cellular connection. For some free apps, offline use is the line they draw to encourage you to start a paid subscription.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What was the most popular app in the Apple and Google app stores in 2020?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Gmail",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Instagram",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "TikTok ",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Zoom",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "This fashionable — and controversial — video-based social network was not only the most downloaded app in the United States in 2020 but also the most downloaded app worldwide, according to Apptopia, which has access to advertising, download and revenue data from more than 225,000 mobile apps. The trend continues in 2021, according to App Annie, which collects data by distributing free apps that ask users for the right to collect data on apps, usage and other behavior.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
} ]

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Linda Dono is an executive editor for AARP. Previously, she served as a reporter and editor for USA Today, Gannett News Service and newspapers in four states, including the Cincinnati Enquirer.