Apps can help you access services

Apps can access services

There is a range of apps that can help you save time and effort by letting you access important services, right from your smartphone or tablet.

An important benefit of using an app to access services is that you avoid having to travel to an office, supermarket, or other store, where you may have to spend time queuing.

Some apps can help with your finances

Apps that help you manage your banking or make small payments in shops can improve the security of your finances by requiring your biometrics to sign in. This can include your fingerprint, or face-recognition, depending on the kind of mobile device you are using.

Financial apps can access your personal information

Many of these apps need access to personal information, such as your banking details, name, date of birth, and address. Some of these apps also use your device's location. For these reasons, it's very important that you only use the official versions of these apps.

How to get official versions of apps

You should only download apps from the official app store supported by your device.

On Android devices, that's the Google Play Store. On Apple iPhone and iPad, the App Store is the official store.

Government services apps have extra security

When you use a government services app such as MyGov or the Medicare app, you'll need to put in a password, but also a code. This 2FA (two-factor authentication) code will be sent to your mobile phone via a text message as a part of the login process.

You then put the code in to the app to access your information.

Banking and payment apps can access your money

Banking apps and apps that let you make payments in shops can access your finances, and let you spend or move money around, so it's important to be secure when using them.

When you use the app in a shop, be careful that nobody watches you enter a PIN or can see any of your financial details.

To protect your information, you should never use these apps on a public Wi-Fi network, only via your own mobile data plan or on home Wi-Fi.

eSafety tip

It's safe to use a sensitive app, such as a banking or payment app, while your phone is connected to the mobile data network. Data is shared directly between your phone and the mobile phone tower and can't be accessed by anyone except you.

Apps ask for permission

When you install an app, it will ask for permission to access certain data and features of your phone, such as your location, access to contacts, photos and other personal information.

If this permission doesn't seem relevant to what the app is supposed to do, you can refuse the permission to stop it accessing this data.

Remember to uninstall unused apps

If you stop using an app or don't like it, you should uninstall it from your device instead of just leaving it installed and unused.

By uninstalling the app, your personal information can no longer be accessed by it, and any permissions the app was given will be revoked.

Well done!

This is the end of the Apps can help you access services activity. You've learned how certain apps can save you time and effort by accessing services on your device.

Next up is the Medicare and government services apps activity where you can find out some of the useful things you can do with these apps, and how they can save you a lot of time.