Spring cleaning includes devices

Last week, I spent a long time clearing off old photos from my phone (and then putting a reminder on my phone to do that more often so they don't pile up on me). This week, I have spent some time deleting old apps. Gone are the apps I downloaded with the best of intentions, but never actually used. And I've deleted the games that are sucking up my time but I don't actually enjoy, but play just because they are there.

That felt good. But I am not done yet. I need to go through and check my settings.

I know that my phone is tracking me. Of course it is tracking me: It is a device that I frequently carry around with me and reach for when I can't remember the name of that actor that was in that movie I can't remember the name of. Companies are dying to know that about me.

I did not realize, however, how much my phone was tracking me until I read this article about the middle-of-the-night conversations our phones have with tracking apps. It's a creepy thought - like your best friend telling everyone all your secrets while you are sound asleep. 

Yes, a lot of companies use tracking apps for marketing and service data. But a lot of companies are just collecting information with no plans for it at this point. That feels weird. 

To me, it is worth the 15 minutes to go through your settings and figure out where you want more privacy. It would also be worth it to have your children do the same thing for their devices. While it's not perfect, it does make me feel a little more in control.

How often does your family check the privacy settings of your devices? Tell me in the comments.