Whether you’re using an app or another form of technology, it’s important to know the risks and understand what you can do to keep yourself safe online.
Some apps use ‘single sign-in’ — using the same log-in details for different apps such as using your Facebook or Twitter accounts to log in to other apps. This can be risky particularly if your social media account is compromised. If possible, use separate logins with different passwords which can also make it harder to hack. You’ll need an email address or Facebook login to access Swanned. Can you set up a new email account that only you can access to keep yourself extra safe?
Make it hard for someone to login to your apps should your phone get in the wrong hands. Change the passwords for all your devices and online accounts and set strong passwords or ‘pass phrases’ that are hard to guess. Do not use birthdates, children’s or pets’ names, favourite foods, colours or musicians in your new passwords.
Only add users as a friend on social media when you really trust them, as this gives them information about where you live, your family and friends. It also gives them a lot of other personal information such as where you go for holidays, where you hang out, who your friends are and, for those who are mums, information about your children which are all things people can use for identity theft.
Make sure that the only people who can see the content you post are the people you choose.
Phishing scams are attempts by scammers to trick you into giving out personal information such as your bank account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers. See more about how to spot a scammer.
Many apps, like Swanned have in-app purchasing, make sure you read the terms before you continue to understand how we, or other apps debit your account when you agree to paid features.
Keep your operating systems up-to-date and install all updates to the software and apps that you use on your devices as soon as they are available, these often include important bug fixes as well as improvements to the app itself.
These apps can scan for viruses, malware and spyware. Android systems are at a greater risk from viruses, malware and spyware than Apple devices.
Use a strong password or ‘pass phrase’ for your router and enable network encryption.
We require location services to be allowed for our app to work, you can at any time choose to disable this within your phone's settings if you do not wish others users to know your approximate location.
Don’t respond to threats, sexual behaviour, photos or videos that make you feel uncomfortable. Block and report them.
If you are going to meet someone in person for the first time, it is a good idea to back up your conversation manually by taking a screenshot of it and storing that outside the app or using the cloud.
