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Lockdown Mode was introduced in 2022 as a hardening setting for Apple's operating systems, designed to strengthen the protection against ``some of the most sophisticated digital threats''. However, Apple never explained these threats…
The ubiquity of mobile applications has increased dramatically in recent years, opening up new opportunities for cyber attackers and heightening security concerns in the mobile ecosystem. As a result, researchers and practitioners have…
We present the design and design rationale for the user interfaces for Privacy Enhancements for Android (PE for Android). These UIs are built around two core ideas, namely that developers should explicitly declare the purpose of why…
Android apps are built on APIs that abstract core Android system functionalities. These APIs are officially documented in multiple files distributed with the Android source code or SDK, which we collectively refer to as Android API Lists…
Internet of Things (IoT) applications have the potential to derive sensitive information about individuals. Therefore, developers must exercise due diligence to make sure that data are managed according to the privacy regulations and data…
With the development of foundation AI technologies, task-executable voice assistants (VAs) have become more popular, enhancing user convenience and expanding device functionality. Android task-executable VAs are applications that are…
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the development of smartphone applications to assist disease management. Many "corona apps" require widespread adoption to be effective, which has sparked public debates about the privacy, security, and…
Since the global spread of Covid-19 began to overwhelm the attempts of governments to conduct manual contact-tracing, there has been much interest in using the power of mobile phones to automate the contact-tracing process through the…
Third-party Software Development Kits (SDKs) are widely adopted in Android app development, to effortlessly accelerate development pipelines and enhance app functionality. However, this convenience raises substantial concerns about…
Privacy, security, and accessibility, like ethical concerns in mobile applications (a.k.a. apps), commonly subsumed under non-functional requirements, are generally reported by users through app reviews available in app stores. However,…
Due to the rapid development of technology and the widespread usage of smartphones, the number of mobile applications is exponentially growing. Finding a suitable collection of apps that aligns with users needs and preferences can be…
The massive growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) as a network of interconnected entities [18], brings up new challenges in terms of privacy and security requirements to the traditional software engineering domain [4]. To protect the…
The proper use of Android app permissions is crucial to the success and security of these apps. Users must agree to permission requests when installing or running their apps. Despite official Android platform documentation on proper…
The Android market is a place where developers offer paid and-or free apps to users. Free apps are interesting to users because they can try them immediately without incurring a monetary cost. However, free apps often have limited features…
The increasing adoption of differential privacy (DP) leads to public-facing DP deployments by both government agencies and companies. However, real-world DP deployments often do not fully disclose their privacy guarantees, which vary…
The packaging model of Android apps requires the entire code necessary for the execution of an app to be shipped into one single apk file. Thus, an analysis of Android apps often visits code which is not part of the functionality delivered…
A growing concern with advertisement libraries on Android is their ability to exfiltrate personal information from their host applications. While previous work has looked at the libraries' abilities to measure private information on their…
Smartphones hold important private information, yet users routinely expose this information to questionable applications written by developers they know nothing about. Users may be tempted to think of smartphones as old-style dumb phones,…
With the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of security incidents due to insecure and misconfigured IoT devices is increasing. Especially on the consumer market, manufacturers focus on new features and early releases at…
Mobile applications (apps) have become an essential part of everyday life, offering convenient access to services such as banking, healthcare, and shopping. With these apps handling sensitive personal and financial data, ensuring their…