VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — According to 'TechCrunch,' several popular iPhone apps record every tap and swipe, without permission.
Apps like Expedia, Hotels dot com, several airlines, and retailers all track app users.
Apple is demanding those app developers to, at least, inform customers they use tracking software, or Apple will remove their app from the store.
Regent University's Institute for Cyber Security's Executive Director, Stephanie Butts, said it's not the first time something like this has happened.
She thinks software developers choose bad behavior to get ahead in the market place.
"Too many times it's a click and a swipe, again, sacrificing security for convenience," she said.
If someone doesn't want an app tracking them, there are four things Butts suggested: lock, look, read and wait.
Butts recommends locking a phone with a strong password. A complex password makes it harder for someone to download an app without permission.
Second, look through the apps on a phone, and remove any unnecessary apps. Butts said it's simple housekeeping.
"Check and see if there are apps that are installed that you didn't recall installing, or that someone else may have installed,” said Butts.
Butts suggests going into the security settings to check which apps can see what data is being used. She said she even has to go back and read the user agreements because the privacy settings change with updates.
"Certainly, I missed some of those privacy settings that had reversed what I thought I had set,” said Butts. “It should tell you how the data is going to be used if they're going to sell it to third parties."
Lastly, wait before downloading cell phone apps.
"Really, you owe it to yourself to wait until there's a variety of software updates, as well as reviews, so again you can make a sound judgment,” said Butts.
Overall as technology continues, make a good habit to check what apps are on a device. It's a mental shift because these problems won't go away.