Online safety is a significant concern for anyone who uses the internet for business or pleasure.
Whether you are buying everyday goods through an online retailer, playing casual games on a reputable platform, or reading the latest news from around the world, your identity is at risk in the digital space.
By protecting your information and devices, you can ensure that no nefarious actor gets a chance to leverage your personal details.
Below are the top five Android apps to help you play, read, shop, and learn online safely and with peace of mind.
1. Password Manager
If you spend any amount of time online, you are probably exhausted from trying to remember passwords for different websites. Digital security experts believe that having the same password for various sites or apps is not wise, as a single data breach could compromise your accounts on every platform.
Installing a password manager on your phone from a reputable company is the only way to ensure that you can easily remember all your passwords. Rather than having to recall and type up passwords each time you want to log into a site, you can use the password manager to fill in your details instead.
Ensure you are using a password manager that provides full encryption for your account. That means even if your password data is stored on their servers, all the information is encrypted and only accessible with your master password. You can even enable two-factor authentication on your account, ensuring that if someone does get your master password, they also need access to your smartphone to get at all your other passwords.
2. Bouncer
Bouncer is a relatively new and unique security app that you should have on your Android smartphone. Many people have an issue with Android games, where they are asked to provide various permissions to access different features within the game.
If you download a new game on your phone and you want to try its various game modes, you may feel it is a risk to give the application all the various permissions it is seeking. Rather than giving up those permissions permanently, you can use Bouncer to temporarily give those permissions to an app.
Such a feature ensures that you can use the game without any problems by giving it the permissions it is seeking, albeit temporarily. Bouncer will take away those permissions in the background when you are done playing, ensuring the app is not accessing your location, camera, microphone, or other data without you knowing.
While you can use Bouncer for playing games on your Android phone with peace of mind, you can also use this application for other apps. If you are watching a television show on Netflix or Hulu, Bouncer can grant temporary permissions while taking them away after you are done watching.
3. VPN
A virtual private network, or VPN, is the ideal way to protect yourself when playing online games on a public Wi-Fi network. Imagine you are at a public library, train station, airport, or at your workplace, and you do not want to use up the mobile data from your smartphone plan.
When you connect to a public Wi-Fi network, other people on the same network can hack into your device with relative ease. That means you could be playing a arcade game or sports game on your phone, but someone may be stealing information from your device without you knowing.
A VPN creates a barrier between you and anyone else on the network. They are not able to access your device, as you connect to the internet through the VPN, not directly through the public Wi-Fi network.
Any reputable VPN from a company that charges a modest monthly fee is a great investment. If you are concerned about the cost, you can look into annual plans, as most VPN providers offer steep discounts if you pay for one, two, or three years up-front.
4. AntiVirus
Most people associate viruses with computers, especially Windows PCs. While computers are more susceptible to viruses and malware, the problem can occur on Android phones as well.
Not only can a virus result in annoying pop-ups or random app installs on your phone, but it could even result in the theft of your personal information. Avoid such a fate by installing a reputable antivirus program on your phone.
Such an application constantly monitors your phone’s internal storage and attached memory cards for any suspicious activity. If any file or program appears out of order, the antivirus can quarantine said file or program until you decide what to do.
5. Banking Application
When you are playing online games, such as battle games, racing games, or even mobile games with microtransactions, you may have to enter your credit card or bank details to add money onto digital accounts.
Even if you are using the proper precautions on websites and apps when entering payment details, your information may still get into the wrong hands. Having the banking application of your bank or credit card provider on your phone gives you instant access to information about your accounts.
If there is any transaction on your card or bank account, the relevant banking app pushes a notification to your phone. You can immediately take action to prevent further problems when you see any transaction you do not recognize.
Enjoy Games to the Fullest with Peace of Mind
Playing online games is a wonderful way to spend time. Whether you have a few minutes to get through during your morning commute, or you want to kick back on your sofa after a long day at work with a glass of wine, you can enjoy a myriad of games on your Android phone.
By installing the most relevant safety applications for your smartphone, you can keep your private information secure while gaming online. These apps make the experience of using a smartphone, accessing the internet, and playing mobile games seamless, secure, and worry-free.