Dissertation accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Information Technology at the North-West University

Abstract

While digital platforms have become indispensable to daily life, the ethical dimensions of user privacy remain under-researched. This study's principal goal was to offer recommendations for safeguarding mobile device users against violations by third-party applications or social engineering applications. The study looked at and formulated recommendations towards addressing the concerns like (i) the violation of mobile users’ global privacy settings by third-party applications, and (ii) the repercussions under the South African Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act. The study employed the confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) framework to comprehensively assess privacy issues associated with the gathering and sharing of users' identifiable information by third-party apps, with or without consent or awareness. Furthermore, it examined the awareness among users of digital mass surveillance, the data extracted by third-party applications and the fate of this data once removed from mobile devices. The major findings of the study were that (i) the downloaded applications used whatever they could gather on mobile users' activities to generate revenue, and (ii) the mobile users’ data were neither adequately nor consistently protected, exposing users to all the risks associated with social engineering applications. Furthermore, the literature review findings provided some themes that were triangulated by collected data from participants. These themes were used to develop and contribute 10 recommendations to safeguarding mobile users from violation by third-party applications. The study's recommendations emphasise enhancing data security, promoting transparency in data privacy practices and encouraging users to exercise caution when sharing personal data with mobile applications. These recommendations are aimed at improving user protection and privacy practices in the mobile app ecosystem and have the potential to positively impact the fields of cybersecurity, human-centred design and technology ethics. The future studies can aim at developing an application that could strictly safeguard the users.