Third-Party Applications: Are they considered safe?

Third-party applications are software applications made by someone other than the manufacturer of a specific mobile device or an operating system. For example, Application development companies create various applications for either Google or Apple’s operating systems. A third-party application can be a verified one from the leading company or a company that doesn’t fulfill the verification requirements but still makes the applications.

Using third-party applications is more often seen as useful for users who can’t financially afford the original companies’ main applications. Or maybe the third-party applications can benefit when it comes to the user’s preferences; either way, users can have many reasons to switch to third party applications, starting from affordability to personal preferences. It also depends on the features that the third-party applications provide.

Benefits of Third-party Applications

There aren’t significant security benefits of using third-party applications. But from a personal point of view, being able to customize and modify the software to personal preferences also having features that a user might specifically prefer can be enough benefit for a specific user. Installation or uninstallation process reducing the time it takes to go through the whole process. Also, doing the practice has been known for aiding different enterprises to manage the growing mass numbers of various applications and software for servers and personal computer desktops. Using third party applications can help reduce the significant management cost and effectively assist in production costs.

The following are some benefits of third-party applications:

• Application customization

• Installation simplification

• Storage space reduction

Risks of Third-party Applications

The security risks of third-party applications are impeccable, specifically when it comes to security. It causes severe vulnerabilities and may play a significant role in getting into the hands of social engineers. Third-party applications, if not verified, are prone to many phishing and whaling attacks; nearly 80% of the top 50 free apps found in Google play have a counterpart version. These apps may be found in different categories. More than half of counterpart applications today are included in the ‘high-risk’ and ‘malicious’ category due to the risks they have to users.

The following are some risks of third-party applications:

• Phishing and Identity theft attacks

• Being prone to social engineering

• Not getting full benefits of the applications

Third-party applications, if verified, can be an exciting alternative. And a platform to have something to choose from, but on the other hand, the risk factor is much higher than the benefits it provides; Better Mobile Security highly advises to refrain from using unverified third-party applications.