Free Apps Often Cost Your Data — The Product Is You

When an app is free, the company still needs to make money. Usually, that money comes from your data — your location, your contacts, your browsing habits, your conversations. Every permission you grant is a window you open for data collection.

This does not mean you should never use free apps. But you should make it a conscious choice. Before installing, check what permissions it requests and whether they make sense for what the app does. A flashlight app asking for access to your contacts is not a flashlight app — it is a data harvester wearing a costume.