These Android features will help protect your digital privacy

Privacy andandroid have always been natural companions. Much of the profits from its advertising business are derived from users of its mobile operating system. Nowadays, users of the search giant's software are given more authority over how and when it taps into their data by baking a number of security features and privacy protections into the software.

You already know many of the basics. Setting a strong PIN is a great start, and making sure you keep your device up-to-date with the latest security patches is even better. Even the most well-resourced hackers can be saved if you protect your account with two-factor authentication. A number of the built-in security features in the operating system are switched on by default.

Here is what else you need to think about. Some settings may be different depending on your version of the phone.

How to protect your digital privacy on Android

1. Uninstall unused apps

It's not likely that you're using all of the apps on your phone. uninstalling unused apps can help to free up storage space on your device and improve the security of your device, as unused apps can still run in the background, collect, and then share your personal data.

Thankfully, getting rid of these zombie apps is easy. Go to the Play Store, tap Menu, and select My apps and games. You can remove the apps from your device by selecting them from here.

2. Check your Android app permissions

You have the ability to allow or deny access to your data. The image is from TechCrunch.

Once you have got rid of unused apps, you should also do a privacy audit of those you use on a regular basis to make sure they only have access to the things they are supposed to. Go to settings, Privacy and security, and Permissions Manager to do this. Here, you can see exactly what data each app can access, as well as the option to limit it. You can limit the accuracy of location data in later versions of the software to allow you to still get nearby results without revealing your location.

3. Hide sensitive notifications on your lock-screen

The lock screen has notifications and sensitive content on it. The image is from TechCrunch.

If your device falls into the wrong hands, they might see sensitive information, from private messages to two-factor codes, without having to enter your device.

You have the option to restrict how much information is displayed on your lock-screen. Privacy and security can be found in the settings. When unlocked, the option to switch to Show sensitive content only when unlocked is available.

4. Browse the web with more privacy

The Safe Browsing mode is switched on by default on the default browser on the device. A feature called Enhanced Safe Browsing increases your protection against dangerous downloads and malicious websites, but at the expense of collecting more data on your browsing activity, which some users may feel uncomfortable with, especially given that Google already has enough of our data.

You can switch it on by going to the three-dot menu in the top right of the browser. Enhanced browsing can be switched on from here.

It is possible to switch to a completely different browser. There are several privacy-focused browsers available in the Play store that provide more protection than the default offering. DuckDuckGo is a privacy-friendly search engine that doesn't log search queries, and the Tor mobile browser helps users circumvent censorship.

Before you go, you should consider:

• Make sure Find My Device is set up: Just like iOS, Android comes with a built-in feature called Find My Device (previously the Android Device Manager) that lets you track your device if it’s lost or stolen. It also comes with a “Lock and erase” feature that prevents anyone accessing your device data by letting you remotely lock your device and erase its data.

• Opt-out of ads: Ads track you everywhere on the internet. If it’s not websites tracking you, it’s the apps themselves. One of the best ways to prevent this kind of targeted tracking is by opting out of ad personalization — which uses data collected from your phone to serve you ads that it thinks you might be interested in. You can do this by going to Settings, then head to Google, then Ads to switch it off. You should also hit the Reset advertising ID since this will disassociate your device from your ads profile.