Avoid archiving and storing these items on your mobile phone

Perhaps the most constant things that stay with us all the time are our smartphones. Even on the family table, phones remain the focal point, despite the fact that this recent habit is a wrong behavior. However, we can liken our mobile phone to our wallet, which includes our money, personal cards, insurance cards, credit cards, and even some personal photos. These days, we should ask ourselves if it is necessary to keep all of that in our wallet!

I leave the answer to you, but what you should know is that this also applies to our smartphones. You should also know that this convenience may come at a steep price, as there are some things that should not be stored and archived on the phone. To prevent that, we will specifically identify these things so you can be safe from paying the price. Without further ado, let’s get to know them now.

Honestly, the things we will mention one by one should make you think twice before storing them on your phone. By doing so, you may open yourself up to privacy breaches and data theft, which is more costly than the phone itself, regardless of the brand you own. As for these things, they are as follows.

It is well known that passwords are created for protection, and it is always advised to set strong passwords consisting of random numbers and letters. However, the difficulty of these passwords may lead some people to write them down. The first thing that comes to mind is keeping them as drafts, saving them in the clipboard, or even writing them on a note, and the riskiest of all, keeping them for autofill. Therefore, with these habits, you are putting yourself and your data at risk. Imagine losing your phone or leaving it on the desk and someone curious grabs your phone and starts snooping around. To prevent that, use a password manager app or service, and fortunately, there are many of these apps. For example, we recommend using LastPass or Dashlane.

Many people rely on fingerprint unlocking for their phones and applications, considering it to be highly secure and impossible to breach. However, the opposite is true. In situations where a person is required to unlock their phone themselves, such as when they are asleep, or by force, fingerprint security can be compromised. Consequently, compared to passwords, the latter requires more steps and the person can stall to gain some time. In the end, we can say that passwords are more secure than fingerprint security.

Both face recognition and fingerprint recognition are two sides of the same coin. The same previously mentioned situations apply to face recognition as well. However, relying on face recognition as a passcode instead of fingerprint recognition is considered more secure. At the same time, when compared to passwords, face recognition is less secure. Moreover, consider the difficulty of facial recognition in some situations, especially in low light conditions or when holding the phone at the wrong angle.

Another thing that is more personal than the things we mentioned is to be responsible for your accounts on social media and to adhere to privacy as much as possible. However, there are still some photos or personal videos stored on the phone, and it is very bad for these files to remain stored, especially when saved in the cloud. Therefore, our advice at this point is to save these photos and videos on your personal computer, or use a vault app or a default hiding tool.

Regardless of whether the photos are taken from your phone as screenshots or digitally scanned through a scanner app, these photos in particular pose a danger to your privacy, especially when stored in the cloud. No one likes to see these leaked files, as they are essentially your basic information such as ID numbers, date of birth, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information. Therefore, as with the previous protection measures, you can save these photos on your personal computer or organize them in an album and hide them using a well-known method.

At this point, the danger transcends your person to involve the family and who lives in the house. Storing your home address on a navigation or location app makes accessing your home very easy. The risk does not stop at the house alone, but also extends to the workplace and places you frequently visit. Like all the things we mentioned, we advise against naming your home location, but rather give it another name, for example, “The Gym” and so on.

There is no doubt that the services provided by banks, especially online banking services, are characterized by their round-the-clock operation, providing us peace of mind and eliminating the hassle of going here and there. However, this peace comes at a price more dangerous than you imagine. We are talking about money, bonds, and deposits, the spine of any person. Therefore, carrying your bank account and data on your mobile phone puts you at real risk of losing it and getting it stolen. Instead, use your computer instead of your phone, as the former does not leave its location.

And most importantly, avoid carrying out these transactions via your phone. At the same time, generate a strong password for your banking accounts and services, and finally, check your accounts regularly and change their passwords periodically to reduce the chances of hacking and taking control of them.