Sometimes our smartphones know how we feel before us and even provide related suggestions based on it. Just when you start to feel hungry, an ad for pizza pops up on your screen. But what if your phone could predict seizures or epilepsy?

Tappigraphy is a word that you might not recognize. However, experts speculate that it’s going to be used widely in the healthcare sector in collaboration with smartphones and smart accessories. This technology, allegedly, will change the way we will collect health data and use it for more reforms.

However, there are some disadvantages of this technology as well, which are discussed below in the article.

What is Tappigraphy in Smartphones?

Tappigraphy is a method in smartphones that can track your movements accurately. The tappigraphy patterns are recorded using smart wearables, and the activities are further saved on the smartphone.

These tappigraphy patterns are now becoming a significant part of mental health research to characterize peri-sleep behaviors by observing the timing of smartphone usage and the frequency of use. It can help determine the quality of sleep you are getting and how it affects your mental health.

Furthermore, smartphone interactions while the user is lying in bed may detect instances of a wake when movement is less than the threshold set for detecting wakefulness by wearable devices.

How Might Tappigraphy Invade Your Digital Privacy?

The increased use of smart wearables to track health conditions is becoming dangerous as well. The data that should be stored with the government healthcare departments are being held within the private companies. It can lead to privacy concerns as data related to health is crucial, and it should be kept confidential and safe. Using tappigraphy for research purposes and then sharing the results with private firms is a bit risky.

Moreover, the data stored with the private firms can get hacked by cybercriminals, and if that happens, it is a recipe for disaster. Hackers can misuse this data and steal your personal information, including name, address, and account details. It can lead to a huge problem for you as you may also face legal actions for the mistake caused by others. It can also lead to blackmail when perpetrators threaten to expose victims’ health data.

Some Other Digital Privacy Problems

  • Tracking cookies. It is the most common way of tracking an individual. Most people are not aware that their smartphones can be used to track their activities and collect data about them. It can be a significant disadvantage for you as hackers can easily get your personal information from this data and use it against you.
  • Keeping logs. This data is collected and sent to servers that log your activities.
  • Data leakage. The smartphones allow third-party apps to track the users’ location data and other details. It is an excellent way for hackers to track your location. As the data collected is susceptible, it should be kept safe and private by the government only. Also, in a study, 30 health apps were hacked very easily through APIs, and the findings told that the apps exposed data of 23 million users to cyberattacks.
  • Insurance firms can misuse the data. The data collected by health app companies can be shared with the insurance companies. They can use this data for their benefit, like offering pricier insurance plans to certain people. They can modify their terms and services, make new policies, modify old policy conditions, and do other things which can benefit them.

How Can You Avoid Digital Privacy Risks?

  • Encrypting internet traffic. Using a Virtual Private Network ensures protection from all kinds of threats online. For one, you will no longer be exposed to IP-based tracking. Moreover, a free VPN app will encrypt all your internet traffic. Thus, online entities and perpetrators won’t be able to compromise your data in transit, even if you exchange highly confidential details.
  • Manage apps properly. Only allow permissions that you think are necessary for an app to function.
  • Read privacy policies. Before installing an app, make sure you read and understand the privacy policy it comes with. For instance, a health app should not monetize your data.
  • Do not agree to receive targeted advertising. Many apps now have an option for disabling targeted ads.

Conclusion

Tappigraphy is a new and upcoming digital technology in the present-day world. But when used without the consent of people and for the benefit of firms, it becomes a threat to our privacy which needs to be taken care of.