Best 8 Android Smartphone Apps That Protect Your Privacy and Security

There are over 1.43 million apps on the Google Play Store, and more than 500 billion downloads. That’s a lot of apps, but which are the best for protecting your device and staying safe?

Android is one of the most open and customizable mobile operating systems, but that can leave it vulnerable to security issues, especially when we carry around so much of our personal information on our devices.

While there are built-in settings you can change to better protect your device, let’s take a look at some of the best apps you can use.

1. Hushed

I know it’s unusual these days to actually use our smartphones as phones, but sometimes it’s necessary. How many times though have you had to give away your phone number, only to end up on the receiving end of cold callers?

You can prevent this by using Hushed, an app that allows you to create burner — or temporary – phone numbers. This means that if you need to fill in a marketer’s form, or give out your phone number to a buyer on craigslist, you can do so without fear of spam or harassment on your real phone number.

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And the best part? If you do end up with a load of nuisance calls, you can just delete the number and create a new one.

Download: Hushed (Free) on the Google Play Store 

2. NordVPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows you to browse the web without giving away who you are or where you are from — information easily gleaned from your IP address, as well as all your browsing habits.

Using a VPN minimizes the amount of data that 3rd parties can collect about you, and it protects your privacy even from your own Internet Service Provider.

One of our favorite VPNs is NordVPN because it takes your privacy seriously by not logging browsing data. Plus, it’s multi-platform and just recently launched on Android after a public beta.

NordVPN allows you to connect to 548 servers in 49 countries to anonymize your browsing. One of its best features though is “Smart-Play”, a connection to a specific server that allows you to use streaming services with a reliable and fast connection.

Download: NordVPN (Free, subscription required) on the Google Play Store 

3. DuckDuckGo

Google is almost without a doubt the most popular search engine, with people even using “to google” as a generic term for searching the web. This position is further reinforced by its status as the default search engine on Android, especially if you are using the Google Now launcher .

While this convenient access to the world’s largest search engine is useful, it may not be best for your privacy, considering the amount of data the search giant holds about you and your search habits.

But if you want to protect yourself from Google’s prying eyes, there are alternatives. Take DuckDuckGo for example, which doesn’t record or track any data about your searches.

While you can always navigate to the DuckDuckGo website, they do have an Android app that you can use for searches, and a more private browsing experience. The app also has a search bar widget that you can add to your homescreen for quick access.

Download: DuckDuckGo (Free) on the Google Play Store 

4. Telegram

In a post-Snowden world more and more people are aware of the ways that various organisations are trying to snoop on your activities, and encryption is the main tool in protecting your privacy.

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Telegram packs a huge amount of privacy focused features into its messaging client. Not only is the entire service encrypted, but it even features “Secret Chats” which are end-to-end encrypted so that only you and your recipient can ever see your message.

Telegram is a multi-platform messenger app which makes it stand out from a lot of the mobile-only offerings from competitors. It also includes a Snapchat-style self-destruct messaging feature for temporary and secure messaging.

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