Your phone talks about you behind your back. These researchers are listening in

When you download an app, the permissions requests and privacy policy are usually the only warnings you'll get about the data it's taking. Usually, you just have to take the app's word that it's grabbing only the data you've agreed to give it.

Often, though, there's more grabbing going on than you were led to believe, security researchers have determined. More than 1,000 apps have been found to take data even after you've denied them permissions. For instance, menstrual tracking apps have shared sensitive info with Facebook, as well as with other companies you might not have expected. Similarly, apps designed to block robocalls have shared your phone data with analytics firms.

Anytime a device sends data, the traffic is captured and logged. Your location is used when you check the weather, but that same information can be sent to advertisers. Researchers have tools to see that log. Then they analyze it to figure out how much data gets sent and where it's going.

Typically, that sort of network traffic analysis was used to look outside, providing a window on what was happening on public Wi-Fi networks. In recent years, however, researchers have turned that scope onto their own phones to see what data the apps on their devices send out.

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https://www.cnet.com/news/your-phone-talks-about-you-behind-your-back-these-researchers-are-listening-in/?ftag=CAD-04-10abf6e&bhid=24447454298893839703959737945916