Free Android Apps vs. Users' Privacy: A Case Study of Some Selected Tertiary Institutions in Kebbi State, Nigeria

Zauwali Sabitu Paki, Shamsu Sani, Gambo Isah Diri
2022 Zenodo  
- The rate of breaches of users' privacy is on the increase in recent times. fraudsters employ several strategies to track, profile, and steal users' Personally Identifiable Information (PII) either for financial or malicious gains. One of these strategies is by sending messages via SMS, ads in the free Android apps, and social media platforms. The success or otherwise of fraudsters largely depends on the strength/weakness of users' access control credentials and their attitudes towards the use
more » ... of free Android apps. In this work, we study the nature of users' login credentials and their adherence to cybersecurity recommendations. We conducted an online survey with respondents from some selected tertiary institutions in Kebbi state, Nigeria. We focused on the apps that users frequently use and how they keep up-to-date with their login stuff. We found that 48.7% of users use the same pin/password for all their apps. 59.3% and 59.6% of respondents always leave their location and mobile data ON, respectively.
doi:10.5281/zenodo.6827693 fatcat:2kgnuq7oa5cszbeccctvyxg6qa