Without a doubt, smartphones are the device or thing with which we spend the most time and they are no longer a simple means of our communication, but rather our portal to the virtual world as well as our main source of entertainment. .
According to Electronic Hubs, the average Spaniard spends almost 6 hours a day on their mobile phone, which is 35% of their waking time, and despite the fact that we spend so much time on these devices, For the vast majority of users, the smartphone is full of features, tools and unknown aspects.
Some of them are for adding shortcuts and improving usability, others are for improving the performance of the phone, and others are for increasing the security and privacy of the device. Nowadays this last aspect is very important, and it is precisely this threats are constant and very diverse
, from WhatsApp messages from strangers that end in scams of over €11,000, to the simple answer of “Yes?” to a call from a number that we have not saved.
For this reason, phone manufacturers are incorporating new security features into their devices, and the green or orange dot that may appear on your device from time to time is one of them. measures designed to protect your privacy.
And probably more than once you suddenly realized that on your phone a small dot, usually green, lights upalthough depending on the model, it may also be orange next to your cell phone’s camera.
This is because it is an alert feature informing the user that the app or activity you are currently using is accessing or using your device’s camera, microphone, or location, So if, for example, you are on WhatsApp and you are going to send a photo to a friend, this item will be activated, which means that you have activated the camera.
What is this function for?
Now you might be wondering what the purpose of this tool is because if you open the camera to take a selfie, you know the camera is activated. But one of the reasons why privacy is difficult to ensure today is that Apps and services require permissions to access all of these features, and in many cases they are not needed for them to function properly.
but they do it without your knowledge, and it may put your privacy at risk.
Most apps that do this do not have cybercriminal interests, but based on information such as where you live, where you are moving, what you talk about, etc., they can create a profile about you and then sell that information to companies so they pay to display personalized ads. and try to convince you to buy something.
So, if an app you just opened is using any of these features in the background, your phone will let you know. Particularly if you have a phone Android, The jumping dot is green and is usually accompanied by a symbol for the activated function.
On the other hand, in iPhonewhen he jumps green dot means it’s a cameraand when the matter is orange means the microphone is activated. Remember that microphone, camera, and location are the three most important aspects of your cybersecurity, and with these alerts you can stop apps from spying on you without your knowledge.