Your Cell Phone Says A Lot About You

Your cell phone says a lot about you, and we aren’t talking about that baby Yoda cell phone cover, but who are we to judge?  No, we wish that was the most telling information that your cell phone revealed about you. 

It actually has a lot to do with your privacy, or lack thereof. You see, nothing on your phone is secure.

There are two main concerns:

  • The first is that if someone steals your phone, they then have all your information.
  • The second and lesser known issue is that any of your information can be stolen by a hacker in a moment’s notice. But whether that hacker is your neighbor down the road or an anonymous person on the internet is up for debate. 

The easiest way to illustrate how little privacy you actually have on your cell phone, is to read this quote from “1984” by George Orwell. 

  If you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself.”

You shouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting a hold of the personal information on your cell phone. You probably haven’t done anything wrong. But is there anywhere left to run, when we live in a world where having a cell phone is right up there with the air we breathe? This blog post will explore some of the options you have.

Excuse Me, But Is This Your Vulnerability? 

What secret treasures your cell phone holds, and we’re not talking about the latest Billie Eilish album you may or may not have pirated. Nope, we mean all those private (or so you thought) conversations you’ve been having over text message. We also mean your bank account information that’s stored on there.

And what about your thumbprint? The only way anyone used to have access to your fingerprints is if they were “involuntarily requested” from you at the end of a bad day. What about your photos and we’re not even talking about anything indecent here? Have you had to snap a picture of your driver’s license to use an app? As you can see, you stand to lose more than first believed if your cell phone were to be hacked, lost, or stolen. 

Save Me, Signal!

In some ways, you are signing your life away every time you send a text message. All the major cell phone carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and more log and track user messages.

All you need to do is stop and think about all the personal information that you’ve communicated via text. Does your gut hurt a little? It should, if you value your privacy. If that truth bomb left you feeling a little unsettled, we have a simple solution and it’s called Signal. It’s a free messaging app for your cell phone that encrypts all your messages, so they remain private, like they should have in the first place. 

Bitcoin Please

Now think about your bank account information. Do you save your username and password on your phone? If someone compromised your phone’s security, would they have access to all your money?

If you insist on having some form of payment on your phone, another option are cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Litecoin. Obviously, you won’t be able to use those forms of payments everywhere, so you’ll need to get used to using your debit card again. It may be an “inconvenience”, but the struggle is real when it comes to protecting your private information.

Speaking of Fingerprints

If you’re alarmed at the thought of your fingerprints falling into the wrong hands, you should probably take a second to think about the implications of your entire DNA sequence being connected to your identity, like many of the companies like 23andme or Ancestry require.

The minute you do a DNA test with any of the major genealogy companies, you can kiss the privacy of your most personal information goodbye. The good news is you never have to worry about that when you purchase a DNA test with Secret Sequence. We simply do not store any of your information, so you can use our services with confidence, knowing that your genetic information will remain anonymous.