A Developer’s guide to building secure Mobile Apps

Introduction
Mobile Applications have actually become a major part of our day to day living. This digital era is surrounded by all the latest technologies out of which mobile applications come handy most of the time for the users. Whether it’s shopping, making online payments, creating networks with people around (basically socializing) or getting multiple other works done, mobile phones make all that possible just at our fingertips with just some clicks.

Though we know that these mobile applications provide us with numerous benefits, these applications come along with various minor as well as major risks out of which risks related to security are the most common occurring ones. So, it’s very important for the developers to ensure that the respective mobile applications made by them should protect and secure users data and make sure that their privacy is kept maintained by building secure mobile applications.

Why is it necessary to maintain security?
It should be considered a vital step for the app developers to consider and apply robust security measures in order to protect users from any sort of mishappening in context to their information being leaked or hacked because when a user uses some or the other mobile application, he/she is often sharing contents regarding the personal information which could be the name, location, mobile numbers, email id or sometimes even the financial details. So, by incorporating various security features in their apps, developers can assure the users with protected & secured data ensuring a seamless and a reliable user experience.

• Strong Authentication
Strong Authentication means that only the right and authorized people are accessible to a particular mobile application. So, it is very essential for the developers to implement secure login methods such as passwords, fingerprints, face recognition or sometimes through special codes sent to your phone in order to make sure that it’s really you and not some sort of unauthorized person. It promotes the prevention of  sensitive and confidential user data which can help developers to maintain the overall security of mobile applications. These strong authentication methods are just like the digital locks for protecting and safeguarding your application. 

• Data Encryption
In simple words, Data encryption is a process where the information is turned into some sort of secret code that is understandable only by the right people who have authorized access to it. This is a very vital step for building secured and reliable mobile applications. By implementation of the data encryption measures, developers can ensure that even if the device is lost or stolen by some means the data would remain inaccessible to the unauthorized users but if somehow someone still manages to gain access to the data, then also they won’t be able to make complete sense of it. So, it helps in keeping the data safe & secure.

• Regular Updates
Making regular updates are way too important and necessary in order to build secure mobile applications for the users. Developers should stay updated about the latest security updates in order to fix bugs, add on new features and most importantly make sure that the users are protected against new threats regarding security issues by addressing and fixing the vulnerabilities on time. By regularly updating the applications users can get the best possible secured experience. 

• Securing Data transmission process
Securing data transmission processes can contribute towards making a mobile application more secure. When data is being transmitted/sent from one device to another, the developers should make sure that the data remains protected from unauthorized access. This can be done by implementing various security and encryption measures such as HTTPS & SSL/TLS which encrypts data and makes sure that the data which is exchanged between the app and its servers is secure. This safeguards the personal and the sensitive user information and ensures its privacy.

• Educating the users
Educating the users is a crucial aspect of building secure and reliable mobile applications. The users should be educated about the risks involved in the use of a particular application and they must be provided with clear and simple instructions about using a respective mobile application by the developers in a secured manner such as offering them tips to keep strong passwords, being extra careful when it comes to sharing their own personal information such as email id’s, phone numbers, etc. and avoiding fraud links that look suspicious. This can protect them from security threats and can lead to a secure application.

By following all these steps such as data encryption, strong authentication, implementing regular updates, securing the process of data transmission along with educating the users, the developers can create secured and reliable mobile applications for the seamless experience of the users. This can help in building users trust in context to that application as it can help them with making informed decisions on how, what and which app to trust with their personal information.