Hashtag, FautianApps, Surveillance
Photo credit: ChatGPT / WhoWhatWhy (PD)

Welcome to Saturday Hashtag, a weekly place for broader context.

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First came the Facebook Messenger scandal, when the app quietly uploaded users’ entire contact lists without consent. Then Facebook doubled down: Its latest update automatically uploads your entire photo library to its servers. The AI-driven feature is opted in — by default — leaving most people unaware their most personal images are being harvested.

These scandals aren’t isolated, they are SOP. They are the clearest examples of the Faustian bargain we strike every time we download an app: trading privacy for convenience.

And Facebook isn’t alone. Across the app ecosystem, from the biggest social platforms to seemingly harmless tools, companies are quietly expanding permissions and even turning your own smartphone features against you. Microphones, cameras, GPS, photo libraries: all fair game, often without your informed consent.

Even Apple, which markets itself as a defender of user privacy, made a decision to protect corporate interests over user safety. 

Its removal of the ICE tracking app wasn’t about protecting users — it was about shielding the company from liability and reputational risk. Like the rest of Big Tech, Apple ultimately puts corporate survival and profits over user security.

Apps Exploit Your Device’s Resources

Beyond collecting data, many apps exploit your device’s resources to track you even when you’re not using them:

This relentless tracking not only drains your battery but also feeds into more effective, invasive ad targeting.

Insecure Servers Make Data Vulnerability

Even worse, many apps store your data on poorly secured servers, with little encryption, leaving it wide open to theft and misuse.

Hackers attack these weak servers, leaking millions of users’ photos, texts, and location histories. The risk isn’t just app overreach, it’s also a threat to the fragile infrastructure meant to protect your data.

Browser Access Over Apps Access

Switching to web versions of services can limit data harvesting. Here’s why:

  • Fewer permissions assumed: Browsers only access your camera or location when you manually grant it.
  • No background tracking: Unlike apps, browsers don’t track you when you’re not actively using them.
  • Better transparency: Browsers give you control over what data you share. Apps, on the other hand, often bury permissions in hard-to-find settings.

Systemic Data Harvesting

The issues with Facebook Messenger’s contact list and photo uploads are just the tip of the iceberg. From Google and Apple to smaller developers, nearly every app is collecting data with minimal regulation. What’s at stake?

  • Personal photos: Scanned for AI-driven suggestions and targeted ads.
  • Text messages: Accessed and stored by messaging apps.
  • Contacts & location: Tracked and sold to third parties.
  • Device resources: Exploited to build detailed profiles while draining your phone’s power.

Why This Matters: The Erosion of Privacy and Permission Creep

This is not just an inconvenience, it’s a systemic issue. Apps like Facebook Messenger infiltrate your private life, exposing your data to exploitation. Once harvested, your data can be:

  • Sold to advertisers for hyper-targeted ads.
  • Shared with third parties and governments for unclear purposes.
  • Exposed during data breaches, putting you at further risk.

The bigger danger is perpetual update permission creep, invasive data requests becoming normalized. Apps continuously gain more control over your personal information, often without your full understanding or explicit consent.

What You Can Do Right Now

Stronger Regulation

We need stricter regulations to demand transparency from apps about what data they collect, how it’s used, and how long it’s stored. Apps shouldn’t control what data they access by default. Users should have clear options to manage and reclaim their data.

Without stronger rules, data harvesting practices will continue to escalate, leaving our privacy more vulnerable than ever.

Safe Bets vs. Data Threats

Employer apps (Slack, Teams, Zoom, Google Workspace, etc.) on your personal phone are a privacy risk — use browser access instead.

These apps performed best for privacy: Discord (Note data breach), Pinterest, and Quora, but you do not need the app to access the platforms.

Most of these are browser-accessible services, but their apps are putting your data at risk right now. 

Meta-owned apps (avoid them all):

  • Facebook
  • Messenger
  • Instagram
  • WhatsApp
  • Threads
  • Workplace
  • Meta Quest (formerly Oculus)
  • Horizon Worlds

Other major data-harvesting apps:

  • TikTok
  • Snapchat
  • Truecaller / Contact Sync apps
  • Dating apps (Tinder, etc.)

Utility & tracking apps:

  • Weather trackers
  • Fitness trackers
  • Location trackers
  • Flashlight & other “utility” apps

Hidden risks inside apps:

Editors Picks

Biggest Social Media Platforms and Apps in 2025

From Dreamgrow: “Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform in 2025, with more than 3 billion monthly active users. YouTube holds the second spot with 2.53 billion monthly active users. Instagram and WhatsApp tie for third place with 2 billion monthly active users. TikTok, a Gen Z favorite, counts 1.59 billion monthly active users. Users spend nearly 1.5 hours per day on TikTok, making it the most engaging app.”

New Meta AI Feature Raises Photo Privacy Concerns

The author writes, “Meta is testing a new feature on Facebook that asks users to grant its AI access to their unpublished photo libraries, sparking fresh concerns over photo privacy, according to TechCrunch. ‘Some Facebook users have reported seeing pop-ups requesting permission for ‘cloud processing” of their camera rolls. The feature, which uses AI to ‘restyle’ photos, group images by themes such as ‘birthdays’ or ‘graduations,’ and generate ‘personalized creative ideas’ like collages, claims it does not use the data for ad targeting.”

Intra-Library Collusion: A Potential Privacy Nightmare on Smartphones

From Cornell University: “Smartphones contain a trove of sensitive personal data including our location, who we talk to, our habits, and our interests. Smartphone users trade access to this data by permitting apps to use it, and in return obtain functionality provided by the apps. In many cases, however, users fail to appreciate the scale or sensitivity of the data that they share with third-parties when they use apps. To this end, prior work has looked at the threat to privacy posed by apps and the third-party libraries that they embed. Prior work, however, fails to paint a realistic picture of the full threat to smartphone users, as it has typically examined apps and third-party libraries in isolation.”

Hidden App Silently Installed on Your Phone Is Scanning All Your Pictures Without You Knowing — How To Turn It Off

The author writes, “A shocking new feature has crept into millions of phones — and it’s been hiding in plain sight. The app scans your image gallery and messages for ‘sensitive content,’ all without your say-so. The little-known program, called Android System SafetyCore, slipped into phones late last year as part of an update for phones with Android 9 systems and newer.”

Android Spyware Pretends To Be Signal or Totok Update To Fool Victims — Here’s How To Stay Safe

The author writes, “Android users in the United Arab Emirates and the wider region are being targeted by two malicious campaigns which spoof known chat apps, Signal and ToTok, to distribute malware. Security researchers at ESET said they started tracking the ProSpy and ToSpy campaigns in June 2025, but believe they could have started back in 2024.”

Negative Effects of Technology Statistics 2025: Mental Health, Sleep Disruption, and Social Isolation

From SQ Magazine: “It starts with a buzz, notifications lighting up your screen, tabs multiplying faster than thoughts, and the silent hum of technology weaving itself into every corner of daily life. It’s subtle, almost invisible. But beneath the convenience and connectivity lies a ripple effect few of us are prepared for. As we step further into 2025, the conversation has shifted. We’re no longer just asking how to use tech more efficiently, we’re asking how it’s affecting our well-being. This article unpacks the negative effects of technology through a deep dive into current data, helping you understand what’s happening, who it’s affecting most, and where we’re headed next.”