How Secure Are Food Delivery Apps?
When you order a delicious dinner or a late-night snack through a food delivery app, you might not immediately consider the security aspect. However, your online privacy holds significant importance, especially as food delivery apps continue to collect personal information in large quantities.
This article focuses on exploring the potential privacy risks associated with food delivery apps. We will also provide tips on safeguarding yourself against potential privacy issues, such as data breaches.
How Secure Are Food Delivery Apps?
Food delivery apps have skyrocketed in popularity, and this upward trend is expected to persist. It is projected that the US food delivery industry will be valued at a staggering $200 billion by 2025, accounting for approximately 40% of all restaurant sales. You might be among the many individuals who regularly utilize these convenient apps.
The concern lies in the extensive data collected by these apps and their subsequent sharing of this information with third parties. While data sharing is typically carried out by the app’s privacy policy, there is always the risk of data theft.
After all, platforms that hold vast amounts of data naturally become enticing targets for hackers and cybercriminals. The FBI, for instance, reported that around 280,000 customers of an undisclosed grocery delivery company had their data sold on the dark web in July 2020. It goes without saying that if your data falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be devastating. A prime example would be the unauthorized use of your payment information.
How to Protect Delivery Apps?
#1 Secure Login
To prevent unauthorized access, we encourage you to create strong passwords that combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and random phrases. Additionally, please remember to regularly change your password.
#2 Install a VPN
One of the basic cybersecurity tips that can save your data and application from hacking is to use VPN apps. Preference should be given to VPNs without logs since they will not leak your data, they do not store it at all. We have one good vpn without logs in mind – VeePN. It is available on almost all platforms, offers good speed, has a free trial period, and 2500+ VPN servers.
#3 Secure Payment Methods
When it comes to payment, you may have your preferences – some prefer a direct bank transfer, while others find digital wallets more convenient. That’s why it’s crucial to have a wide range of payment processing platforms available.
However, it’s equally important to check the security of these platforms. When choosing credit card providers, make sure they comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Additionally, only integrate reputable and widely-used payment processors like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Stripe.
To enhance transaction security, consider replacing credit card numbers with tokens. Even if there is a breach in your food delivery app, these tokens would be meaningless without their decryption keys. Plus, don’t forget about VPN, for example, install VeePN Firefox and use it on all work and personal devices. This will significantly reduce the risk of one of your devices being hacked.
#4 Privacy Controls
To maintain compliance with data protection regulations, prioritizing robust user privacy controls becomes essential. Moreover, fostering user trust and loyalty stands as another significant benefit of such controls.
Additionally, privacy controls empower you, as a user, to customize your in-app experience. For example, you can decide to share location data for precise delivery tracking while ensuring the confidentiality of other details.
Consequently, your food delivery app should provide privacy settings that grant full control over your data. Make sure to inform users about the type and purpose of the collected data and obtain consent before processing it.
#5 Regular Security Audits
Maintaining the security of your food delivery app is an ongoing process that extends beyond the initial development phase. Threats constantly evolve, and regular audits help your app adapt to new security challenges. To streamline your security auditing process, follow this step-by-step checklist:
- Establish a routine schedule for conducting vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and code reviews.
- Test the effectiveness of your app’s mechanisms by simulating security incidents.
- Invite external security experts to independently validate your app, as they can uncover blind spots that may be overlooked during internal assessments.
#6 Session Management
Session management prevents unauthorized access to user accounts. This security measure prevents hackers from gaining access to an active session and compromising sensitive information. We have several security measures that you can consider:
- Token-based session management: Generate unique tokens for each user session, making it difficult for attackers to hijack sessions.
- Automated logouts: Implement automatic logouts after a specified period of inactivity to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to unattended, active sessions.
- Regenerated session IDs: Create new session IDs after significant events, such as logins and user access changes, to keep hackers at bay.
- User authentication checks: Prompt users to verify their identity when accessing sensitive information or performing actions that require advanced access.
Conclusion
Privacy is a sensitive topic for everyone in today’s world and a conscious approach is starting to dominate over mindless use of apps. If you don’t want to lose clients who care about their privacy and don’t want to undermine user trust, take the steps listed above.