Are you worried about your privacy when browsing the Internet? You are right to do so in light of the leaks and hackings of famous sites and social media.
Hackers who possess your personal information can do anything from stealing money to stealing your identity.
Unfortunately, most people think that they are at risk only when they use their laptops or computers. So, they often forget about one small thing they carry everywhere. I’m talking about your smartphone.
To help you protect your data and information, today, I’m going to show you the 10 best privacy apps for Android users.
Just keep on reading.
1. ProtonVPN
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and it’s the best way to ensure your privacy because it encrypts your data when you’re using the Internet.
If you don’t have a VPN, your service provider can monitor everything you do on the Internet. As such, it’s easy for hackers to acquire this information without bothering to hack your phone. They just need to access the ISP’s servers.
However, when you use a VPN, your data is filtered through a tunnel. People can only tell that you’re connected to the Internet but not what you’re doing. VPNs are essential not only for computers but also for phones.
One of the reasons is because you often connect to public Wi-Fi, which leaves your phone and data unprotected and vulnerable to network attacks. VPN also aims to prevent people from tracking your online activity.
For Android, one of the best privacy apps is ProtonVPN. One of its main advantages is its Secure Core, which ensures that you’re protected from network-based attacks. It also masks your IP address and bounces it around so that no one can track you.
In addition to this, ProtonVPN uses strong encryption protocols, doesn’t keep logs, and prevents DNS leaks. It also allows you to route your traffic to TOR if you’re looking for ultimate privacy protection.
But more importantly, you have a kill switch at your disposal which will block the network connection if you lose connection to ProtonVPN’s servers.
ProtonVPN also has a free version that offers basic protection. If you’re on the fence about it, you can try it and see if it suits you.
2. KYMS
Are you worried about somebody accessing your photos or videos? Then you have to try KYMS. This application looks like a working calculator, but it’s much more than that.
KYMS allows you to hide multimedia and text files in a vault, which is protected with AES encryption. When you want to access your files, you have to enter a four-digit PIN. That means that nobody but you can get to those files. What’s more, nobody is going to look for them there.
Moreover, when you want to decrypt your videos, KYMS does it in real-time. This feature allows you to watch a video without waiting for the decryption process to finish.
Another feature that makes KYMS one of the best privacy apps for Android is that it has a built-in browser which features private bookmarks and simple video download.
In addition to this, KYMS has a panic gesture option that allows you to close the screen when you put your hand on it or close the cover. However, you have to have a phone with a proximity sensor for it to work.
3. Hushed
Hushed is an invaluable application if you don’t want somebody to know your real phone number. This privacy app offers low-cost private phone numbers, which you can use the same way you use your real phone number.
The great thing about Hushed is that it allows you to get a local number from over 60 countries. Such a feature is excellent for traveling abroad because relatives and families can talk to you without paying extra charges.
In addition to this, you can hide your caller ID, send anonymous text messages, and manage multiple lines. Once you’re done with the phone number, you can burn it and get a new one. So, you don’t have to worry about leaving a phone number when dating or advertising online.
Moreover, each phone number comes with a custom voicemail message, auto-reply message, call forwarding, and routing.
What’s more, Hushed offers a free US/Canada 3-day trial numbers so that you can try it and see how it works.
4. Signal Private Messenger
While we are on the subject of secure calls and texts, I should mention another great privacy app called Signal Private Messenger.
You can use Signal Private Messenger to make voice/video calls with no long-distance fees. In addition to this, you can send texts, videos, pictures, or documents without SMS charges.
While that sounds amazing, Signal Private Messenger is on the list of best privacy apps because it employs end-to-end encryption to protect your calls and texts.
In addition to this, it keeps no logs. So, you don’t have to worry that Single will read or see your calls. They can’t, and the same goes for everybody else.
But more importantly, Signal Private Messenger is an open-sourced program. That means you can review the code and make sure that there are no back doors that would allow someone to spy on you.
In addition to this, you can set your messages to disappear after a given amount of time. So, even if you forget about deleting your conversations, they will vanish after the period expires.
5. DuckDuckGo
Search engines are among the largest collectors of data. They record your search history, place cookies on your devices, and share your searches with third-parties to improve your browsing experience.
However, you might not want Google to know what you’re searching for or record it. In such cases, you’ll want to use DuckDuckGo– one of the best privacy browsers available.
Unlike other search engines, DuckDuckGo doesn’t keep tabs on you and doesn’t log your searches. It also blocks all third-party trackers and requires websites to employ encrypted connections so that your data is not visible to everybody.
Another great thing about DuckDuckGo is that it shows you the privacy rating of all the sites you visit. The A-F rating shows you the level of protection immediately and allows you to see the hidden trackers.
In addition to this, DuckDuckGo has a fire button that will clear your tabs and data immediately when you press it. It’s also on an open-sourced project so that you can verify its code.
6. ProtonMail
Gmail is one of the main email providers, but it’s notorious for the amount of personal data it collects. Not to mention that your emails are not encrypted and as such, somebody can get their hands on them if he breaks Gmail’s servers.
Here’s when ProtonMail comes into the picture. It’s an email service that takes its clients’ privacy and security seriously. They use end-to-end encryption to secure your emails in such a way that even ProtonMail can’t decrypt them. So, there is no way hackers can read them.
In addition to this, ProtonMail doesn’t require any personal information when you create your account. They also don’t keep IP logs so that you’re guaranteed complete anonymity.
Since ProtonMail is an open-sourced email provider, you can also review the code and make sure that there aren’t any backdoors to spy on you.
In addition to this, ProtonMail has a user-friendly interface and has different subscription plans ranging from free to €24.
7. LastPass Password Manager
One of the weakest links when it comes to your privacy online is the password. Since people often don’t want to remember long and complicated combinations, they use the same password over and over again. So, when one account gets hacked, the others are likely to follow suit.
Fortunately, you can use a password manager to generate and store your passwords. In this way, you don’t have to worry about remembering or writing them down.
For Android, one of the best privacy password managers is LastPass. It has the usual features of password managers – generating and storing passwords. All you have to do is remember your master password so that you can access the manager.
LastPass also simplifies online shopping because it remembers your credentials and allows you to store digital records. When you have to create an account, it will give you the option to auto-fill the information.
In addition to this, LastPass offers you the option to share passwords and sensitive data securely with other people. But that’s not all. You can also allow access to friends/family in case of an emergency situation.
Furthermore, LastPass has a free plan that offers basic protection. It also has a premium and a family plan for those who are looking for additional features or want to you it on multiple devices.
8. Authy’s two-factor authenticator
Unfortunately, a strong password is not enough to keep an account safe. That’s why it’s an excellent idea to have two-factor authentication, which adds a layer of security to your account.
When you have 2FA enabled, you have to provide additional information to access your account. For example, you have to enter a code sent to your phone.
For android users, Authy is one of your best choices as a two-factor authenticator because it’s user-friendly and takes your security seriously. In addition to this, you can manage and access your authentication tokens easily.
Furthermore, you can protect access to your authentication tokens with touchID, PIN code, or password. The app also allows you to generate tokens offline so that you don’t have to be connected to the Internet.
But most importantly, you can encrypt and back up your data in case you lose your phone. In such cases, you’ll have to remember your password so that you can decrypt your data. Since the app doesn’t store the password, if you forget it, you won’t be able to use this function.
9. Firefox Focus
Firefox Focus is among the best privacy apps for Android because it allows you to browse the Net privately without being tracked by the websites you visit. Using Firefox Focus, you don’t have to worry about advertisement cookies and other tracking cookies because it blocks them.
In addition to this, you can erase your browsing history by simply clicking on one button. The design is user-friendly, and the application is free to install.
Another excellent feature of Firefox Focus is that you can use it as a content blocker with the Safari browser.
As an added bonus, pages load quicker with Firefox Focus because some of the tracking data get blocked.
10. AppLock
Parents often lend their phones to children, while adults pass a phone around to share pictures.
But do you feel uncomfortable you have to hand over your phone to somebody else? Maybe there is something on your phone that you don’t want to others to see or you don’t want your children to mess up with your settings.
In such cases, you must get AppLock. It locks apps that you’re not using so that no one but you can access them.
You can choose to lock them with a fingerprint, PIN, password, or pattern. For added security, the application uses a random keyboard/pattern so that people can’t guess your password when you’re typing it.
AppLock comes in handy if your phone ever gets stolen because you can lock any sensitive data on it. In addition to this, it has a vault where you can hide pictures/videos, time lock, location lock, quick lock switch, and private SNS.
You can also use the intruder selfie option to check who has tried to open your applications. So, the next time someone snoops around or uses your phone without permission, you’re bound to find out.
11. Find My Device
The last in my list of best privacy apps for Android is Find My Device. I’ve included it on the list because it happens to everybody to forget where they put their phones. Is the phone at work or has it been stolen? With Find My Device, you can quickly locate your missing device on a map.
But that’s not its only feature. In case your phone has been stolen, you can use the app to lock it so that the thief can’t access it. You also have the option to erase it if you don’t want sensitive information to fall in the wrong hands.
In addition to this, Find My Device can play a sound even if you have put your phone on silent.
Since people rarely use phones only as phones, you shouldn’t take your privacy for granted. Phones are a target for hackers who will try anything to gain access to your secrets and use them against you.
Not to mention that almost anybody can track your location when you carry your phone with you. That’s why you need privacy apps. But you also have to be careful not to share too much information about yourself online.
What do you think about these 10 best privacy apps for Android? Have you ever used any of them? Tell us your opinion in the comment section.
