Apps of the Future: Privacy Apps

Here’s another stark statistic: 90% of the world’s data was created in the last 2 years. Pretty amazing right? Let’s just keep the numbers train to go:

♦ Data stored and collected globally outpaced the growth of the entire global economy – by a factor of 4!

♦ There are 3,500 so-called “match’ companies (companies that collect and/or analyze data through technological means), as opposed to the 150 just 5 years! That’s a growth of almost a factor of 5 every year since 2011.

♦ 90% of SmartPhone owners use their device to search the web.

So these numbers all point to one thing: that the age of Big Data Marketing is here and is only just begun to change the game. Today, MarTech collects and analyzes the data of millions of Americans, selling information to a big ad agency to be used in campaigns.

In fact, over 90% of adults in the US feel as if they have lost control over their personal information. Across the pond, the EU is enacting the highest grade of consumer data protection globally.

, What’s more, is that this desire for privacy is starting to be noticed by the big tech companies. At WWDC 2016, Apple dropped their newest privacy information: Differential privacy. Basically, it allows marketers to continue collecting data while preventing said data from being traced back to the individual consumer.

WhatsApp, the global messaging giant, recently enacted end-to-end encryption. While this is a little different than protecting consumers from intrusive ad agencies, it’s still a real concern for many US Americans.

In fact, nearly 50% of US citizens are concerned about government surveillance. And even more, should be concerned about malicious hackers. While hacking a messaging app may seem beneath hackers, think about all the data you’ve shared via texts.

In fact, Messaging Apps with end-to-end encryption is a really hot market. Apps from Telegram to LastPass all thrive off their reputation as highly secure messaging and password management services.

Even more telling than the rise in end-to-end message encryption is that in the last year, we started to see the release of adblocking software for mobile phones. And even though that technology is brand new, about 37% of mobile phone users in the US already have it installed on their phones.

So what does this mean to the entrepreneur out there? Privacy apps for Android and iOS are a popular market with massive growth potential. Think about it like this:

♦ 86% of users have made an attempt to either hide or remove their digital footprint.

♦ 3/4s of users want to strongly control what personal data about them is collected, while almost as many want to control who is allowed to collect it.

♦ More than 50% of users want to do more to protect their data.

So all of this data paints a clear picture – that there’s money to be made! At SDI, our developers have long emphasized the importance of privacy in making an app, software, or website. While we understand the value of marketing data, we also know that consumers want protection.

To that effect, we have always striven to reach a happy balance between a consumer’s right to their own personal data and app owners’ right to make money. But we even take it further by creating some for the best privacy apps for Android and iOS.

With a Privacy app, there is no need to find a balance between privacy and big data. The entire Unique Selling Product (USP) of a Privacy App is that it prevents all personal data from being collected. No browsing history, no cookies, no shopping carts.

A privacy app is more than just an adblocking app though. A good privacy app runs in the background of a phone, constantly protecting them from intrusive martech tactics. With the best privacy apps, users feel protected 100% of the time.

But there’s the big question still hovering: how does the app owner make money off an app that specifically avoids collecting and selling data? After all, selling data to a martech company is one of the key ways many app owners generate revenue.

The answer is actually simple: you charge for it! Privacy apps are one of those few apps for which people will gladly pay. Heck, most are even willing to pay a monthly subscription fee, one of the biggest revenue strategies for any app business!

Whether you want to build your own secure, end-to-end messaging app, or a privacy app to stop unwanted data collection (or both!), SDI can help. Our developers know what it takes to make your privacy app a smashing success.

Give us a call at 408.805.0495/408.621.8481 – or click to contact us! And don’t worry: we protect your idea with a 100% ironclad NDA. Check out some of the awesome work we’ve built over the years, too!