Security experts warn that free flashlight apps are secretly recording information from your smartphones. Do you use a flashlight app on your phone? According to a US-based security firm Snoopwall, the phone location, pictures, text messages and even banking information are accessed by the flashlight apps.

The data is transmitted to market research companies and advertisers to track users, experts said.

If an app is free to use, its business model could involve selling customer data. Some apps could also be “developed by professional cyber criminals, enemy nation states for spying or by hackers for malicious reasons”, they warned.

The security firm analyzed the top ten Android flashlight apps and found that most contain malware.

Media reports said: The pre-installed flashlight on apple phones was the only one which appeared to be safe.