Lumen Privacy Monitor monitors Android apps tracking
Lumen Privacy Monitor is a free application for Google Android that monitors connections that applications make on a device it runs on to uncover communication with tracking servers and data collecting.
Created as an academic research project, Lumen Privacy Monitor provided the researchers with a large set of data to analyze. The results were published in the paper "Apps, Trackers, Privacy, and Regulators A Global Study of the Mobile Tracking Ecosystem" (access PDF here). One of the key findings was that the research team managed to identify 233 new trackers that were not listed on popular advertising and tracking blocklists.
Lumen Privacy Monitor
Android users need to have a strong stomach during installation and on first run: the app requires lots of permissions, needs to install a root certificate, will monitor encrypted and normal traffic by default, and send anonymized data to the researchers.
The application requires access to personal data on the device to determine leaks. The researchers note that personal data is never submitted. Still, the application is not open source and it is clear that the privileges that it requests are cause for concern.
If you give permissions to the app, install the root certificate and flip the monitoring switch to on, you will get detailed reports about application activity and leaks.
Lumen Privacy Monitors monitors apps while it runs. The main interface displays the three tabs leaks, apps and traffic.
- Leaks display personal or device information that apps may leak. A severity rating is
- Apps lists all applications that the monitoring app picked up with options to display a detailed report about individual apps.
- Traffic offers an overview of the analyzed traffic. It includes information about HTTPS and other connections, bandwidth, and the overhead that ads and analytics scripts and connections cause.
Apps
The Apps group is probably the most interesting as it reveals important information to you. A tap on a monitored application displays interesting information such as the list of domains the application tried to establish connections to, the number of trackers and the overhead caused by them, leaks and traffic overviews, and the list of requested permissions.
The list of connections is certainly useful as you can determine whether these connections appear to be valid or not. While you may need to research domains before you understand why the application may want to connect to it, you'd quickly find out if an app connects to tracking servers or makes other unwanted connections.
The list of permissions includes risk assessments for each permission which you may use to determine whether to keep an application installed or remove it.
Closing Words
What I like particularly about Lumen Privacy Monitor is that it reveals the overhead that ads and tracker connections cause, the connections an app makes, and the data leaks of applications.
It would be better if the researchers would consider releasing the application as open source to address concerns about the application's wide-reaching permission requests and installation of a root certificate.
What you do with the information is entirely up to you. You could consider removing applications or install apps that block connections to trackers to prevent data leaks.
Now You: Do you use apps on your mobile device?
Related articles
- Clueful scans your Android phone for privacy risks
- Ghostery releases Privacy Browser for Android
- PrivacyGrade rates Android app privacy and informs about third-party use
- PrivacyHawk: risk analysis for Android apps
- Privacy Look adds disk wiping unlock code to your Android device
Uhh, this has already been possible – I am not sure how but remember my brother telling me about it. I’m not a whatsapp user so not sure of the specifics, but something about sending the image as a file and somehow bypassing the default compression settings that are applied to inbound photos.
He has also used this to share movies to whatsapp groups, and files 1Gb+.
Like I said, I never used whatsapp, but I know 100% this isn’t a “brand new feature”, my brother literally showed me him doing it, like… 5 months ago?
Martin, what happened to those: 12 Comments (https://www.ghacks.net/chatgpt-gets-schooled-by-princeton-university/#comments). Is there a specific justifiable reason why they were deleted?
Hmm, it looks like the gHacks website database is faulty, and not populating threads with their relevant cosponsoring posts.
The page on ghacks this is on represents the best of why it has become so worthless, fill of click-bait junk that it’s about to be deleted from my ‘daily reads’.
It’s really like “Press Release as re-written by some d*ck for clicks…poorly.” And the subjects are laughable. Can’t wait for “How to search for files on Windows”.
> The page on ghacks this is on represents the best of why it has become so worthless, fill of click-bait junk…
Sadly, I have to agree.
Only Martin and Ashwin are worth subscribing to.
Especially Emre Çitak and Shaun are the worst ones.
If ghacks.net intended “Clickbait”, it would mark the end of Ghacks Technology News.
Ghacks doesn’t need crappy clickbaits. Clearly separate articles from newer authors (perhaps AIs and external sales person or external advertising man) as just “Advertisements”!
We, the subscribers of Ghacks, urge Martin to make a decision.
because nevermore wants to “monetize” on every aspect of human life…
“Threads” is like the Walmart of Social Media.
How hard can it be to clone a twitter version of that as well? They’re slow.
Yes, why not mention how large the HD files can be?
Why, not mention what version of WhatsApp is needed?
These omissions make the article feel so bare. If not complete.
Sorry posted on the wrong page.
such a long article for such a simple matter. Worthless article ! waste of time
I already do this by attaching them via the ‘Document’ option.
I don’t know what’s going on here at Ghacks but it’s obvious that something is broken, comments are being mixed whatever the article, I am unable to find some of my later posts neither. :S
Quoting the article,
“As users gain popularity, the value of their tokens may increase, allowing investors to reap rewards.”
Besides, beyond the thrill and privacy risks or not, the point is to know how you gain popularity, be it on social sites as everywhere in life. Is it by being authentic, by remaining faithful to ourselves or is it to have this particular skill which is to understand what a majority likes, just like politicians, those who’d deny to the maximum extent compatible with their ideological partnership, in order to grab as many of the voters they can?
I see the very concept of this Friend.tech as unhealthy, propagating what is already an increasing flaw : the quest for fame. I won’t be the only one to count himself out, definitely.
@John G. is right : my comment was posted on [https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/23/what-is-friend-tech/] and it appears there but as well here at [https://www.ghacks.net/2023/07/08/how-to-follow-everyone-on-threads/]
This has been lasting for several days. Fix it or at least provide some explanations if you don’t mind.
> Google Chrome is following in Safari’s footsteps by introducing a new feature that allows users to move the Chrome address bar to the bottom of the screen, enhancing user accessibility and interaction.
Firefox did this long before Safari.
Basically they’ll do anything except fair royalties.