RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Concept Article: Edward Snowden _ How Your Cellphone Spies on You

A. SYNTHESIS

Technology has really come a long way in terms of the things that’s becoming possible as it
progresses. It’s a lot easier to do one’s everyday activities online and it has been very convenient
and helpful for a lot of people. People are being dependent on their smartphones, especially now
that a pandemic is happening, everything wireless is considered better. With little number of clicks
needed, one could order something, do banking transaction or call someone. It is free to use
different applications online as long as one is connected to a wi-fi or mobile cellular. Different forms
of information are being required to be entered so one could start using these services.

And as we are being connected with our smartphones and to our family and friends that are
miles and miles away from us, we are also being connected to the manufacturers and carriers of the
signal. They can monitor us if they want to as our activities are being transmitted by the signal
towers and more so from the applications we downloaded and are using. They can constantly
detect our location and access different data. Our mobile phones are always connected although
the screen is off. It is actually the price one is paying as one is becoming dependent on their
smartphones. And these data are being stored and could actually be used against the users. It is
against one’s privacy rights but these carriers aren’t doing much to protect the users.

Being watched like that is like being investigated even if users didn’t do something bad. For
an authority to arrest someone would need a warrant to protect one’s privacy, the same thing
should also be applied online. “It is not data that is being exploited, it’s people that are people
exploited.”, this is according to Edward Snowden with regards to mobile surveillance.

B. ANALYSIS

• Applications that requires a grant to access different functions of our cellphones could be
used by the hackers to spy and watch us. Although we are not using the application and it isn’t
working, they can easily turn on cameras and microphones to watch and listen to the user. They
can also send malicious emails that could help them access cameras once clicked. Users need to
be extra careful and conscious with the applications they are using online. Users should also check
the settings of their phone for the applications with access from different functions and disable some
that are not necessary for the application to work. This is a step that could be helpful for one to
protect themselves from hackers online.

• Another scenario that is happening is when we are trying to search something online, after
a short time has passed, advertisements about something related on applications would start
popping. A search from an application would be shown to another. Applications are collecting data
and passing it on another application in the form of advertisement. That’s why advertisements
popping is related to what we search and could also be based from what we post. We can also see
posts similar to what we just browsed. It is just crazy and mind-blowing.

• When someone is trying to open and hack our accounts, with the information that is
included is the location of that person.

C. CONCLUSION

1
 Just like how honesty and integrity is essential on science, it should also apply on
technology as these two topics are interrelated to each other.

D. REFERENCES

Edward Snowden: How Your Cell Phone Spies on You [YouTube Video]. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFns39RXPrU

Lielacher, A. (2020, September 4). Brave New Coin. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from
bravenewcoin.com website: https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/how-your-smartphone-can-be-used-
to-spy-on-you

McKay, H. (2019, May 20). Your phone is spying? The truth behind the strange phenomenon.
Retrieved December 1, 2020, from Fox News website: https://www.foxnews.com/tech/phone-
spying-truth-behind-the-strange-phenomenon