Rethinking Data Rights: Should Third Parties Have Access to Your Phone?

Article written by: Lakkshanasre Viyasarramanujam

Article designed by: Lakkshanasre Viyasarramanujam & Palak Tiwari

You've probably downloaded a weather app. It asked for access to your camera, microphone, or even contacts. Why would it ever need those? The truth is, it didn’t, but a third-party advertiser needed it. Unknowingly, we find the need to accept all of these in favor of getting rid of these notifications or pop-ups on our screen, but they have a pivotal role in our device, especially in contributing to third-party data. A third-party app/company is a software application made by someone other than the primary application or manufacturer of the device. You might have seen those extra apps on your phone when you first opened it; well, most of the apps are available as third-party apps. Many apps collect personal data directly, or sometimes a main app will prompt users to share information, often through pop-ups, which it can then share with third-party companies that track user activity across various platforms.

Now, you are most likely inclined to say that you shouldn’t share your data, but in reality, this is what happens with many of our apps on our devices. Obtaining your data can be dangerous and malicious to some extent, yet not everything is bad with third-party apps/companies. In reality, they provide many benefits to our overall experience while using our device that most critics fail to see. If there’s a way to make your phone smarter, faster, and more efficient, then third-party apps allow us to do that. So yes, you can allow third parties to have access to your phone, and here’s why.

The purpose of third-party companies or apps is to add features to protect privacy and boost trust in their relations with other companies. With the right amount of transparency, they can help companies ensure that customers enhance their profiles, improve their targeting strategies, and be able to personalize them more effectively. When companies benefit this much, the use of third-party data will be able to help customers and users much more effectively, making it personalized for a user’s overall experience. These deep data insights can feed “higher engagement rates, improved customer loyalty, and increased conversion rates,” according to the 97th Floor newspaper. So, they provide many benefits…that means I can fully trust it, right? Not quite.

Trusting third-party data handlers can be risky, so we should be cautious when sharing personal information, even if it promises better content recommendations. Much of this data is private and should be disclosed carefully. Many third parties collect more information than necessary, potentially violating privacy rights and compromising security. Thus, it’s important to seek transparency in how these parties collect and use data. Make sure to also verify a third party’s accountability and trustworthiness to ensure your personal data is being handled responsibly and sent to the right places. While the intent may appear to benefit both the user and the business, we should be wary about the permissions and settings we enable concerning our data and personal information.

So, while there can be some negative effects if we’re not careful, using the right safety measures can help us enjoy the benefits of third-party data. That said, third-party companies should be handling data with transparency and clear policies. After all, it's what helps our apps and devices function more efficiently—and even more intelligently.

Works Cited

Farrier, Ellie . “What Is a Third-Party App? + Potential Risks - Norton.” Us.norton.com, 13 Nov. 2023, us.norton.com/blog/mobile/third-party-apps.

Larsen, Makiah. “Redirect Notice.” Google.com, 2025, www.google.com/url?q=97thfloor.com/articles/glossary/third-party-data/%23:~:text%3DThird%252Dparty%2520data%2520enables%2520highly. Accessed 30 May 2025.

“Manage Application Permissions for Privacy and Security | CISA.” www.cisa.gov, www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/training/manage-application-permissions-privacy-and-security.

“Privacy and Third Party Apps.” Colpachealth.org, 2025, www.colpachealth.org/members/privacy-and-third-party-apps. Accessed 30 May 2025.