Prevent apps from accessing personal data on your BlackBerry

Even as a BlackBerry veteran, I continue to make this mistake. I’ll download an application, usually from App World or the BBGeeks Store, and blindly grant it all the permissions it seeks. This is probably a bad idea. There is plenty of personal information on my BlackBerry, and chances are the app doesn’t actually need access to it in order to function properly. BlackBerry Cool explains. Many free apps you see aren’t simply free. They’re free so that more people download them, which means access to more users’ address book and other personal data. If you want to prevent apps like this from rooting through your contacts, you can follow a simple process. I’m working with OS 6, so this might be slightly different for you if you’re running an older version. Still, I think it’s right along the same lines. For OS 6 users, you can find the option in Options – Device – Application Management. Click menu, and then click Edit Default Permissions. From there, set User Data to Deny. That should prevent apps from unnecessarily accessing personal items. If you’re in OS 5.0 or lower, you can get to the same menu by going to Options – Applications and then clicking menu. You should still see Edit Default Permissions. If you’re on 4.5 — and I haven’t used 4.5 in a while so I’m kind of shaky on its interface — I believe there’s just one extra step, since Applications is contained within Advanced Options. (Unless RIM changed that with an update.) In any case, it’s pretty easy to get to that default permissions list and change User Data to Deny. Will some applications not run without the proper permissions? It’s possible, but it’s certainly not always the case. Take ZonaSnap for instance. I just got a 9650 and had to reinstall many applications. When I reinstalled ZonaSnap it asked for permission to access my personal data. I denied it, but the app is still fine. In fact, the screen shot you see in this post was taken with ZonaSnap after I denied it access to my personal information. This is one tip I think every BlackBerry user can benefit from.

About the Author

Joe Pawlikowski is the Senior Editor at MobileMoo.com and has been covering the mobile industry full time since 2007. When he's not writing about the tech scene, he can be found discussing his personal love - baseball (and more specifically the New York Yankees) as well as writing on his personal blog.