A Smartphone and online banking

I have always used a public PC with inPrivate  browsing to check my bank balance and transactions . Now i use my own  Android 12 Smartphone to do it 

My question is how safe is it to use my smartphone to do it ? is it 100% safe to do it ?
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  • sevenhills
    sevenhills Posts: 5,938 Forumite
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    I always stopped myself from getting the banking app on my mobile, but I now have it. I guess millions of others do too. It's a six-digit password, but I haven't heard about any fraud.
    I would be more worried about contactless.
  • Ayr_Rage
    Ayr_Rage Posts: 2,484 Forumite
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    edited 11 May 2024 at 10:10AM
    As long as the phone is getting security updates and you only install apps from verified sources it will be more secure than using any public computer as you have no idea what has been installed on that even if you use a supposedly secure browser.

    I realise there have been some issues on Play Store, but apps for most things you need to do are available from the mainstream companies.

    Read the reviews !
  • I have always used a public PC with inPrivate  browsing to check my bank balance and transactions . Now i use my own  Android 12 Smartphone to do it 

    My question is how safe is it to use my smartphone to do it ? is it 100% safe to do it ?
    Nothing will be 100% safe, just like your previous use of a public PC wasn't.

    All you can do is minimise risk.

    Things that are differerent: draw & drawer, brought & bought, loose & lose, dose & does, payed & paid


  • Neil49
    Neil49 Posts: 3,339 Forumite
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    Don't use free public WiFi to access your banking apps when out and about. Disable WiFi and use your own 4g connection.

    You are ok using your WiFi at home to do this. 
  • sausage_time
    sausage_time Posts: 1,383 Ambassador
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    If anything bad were to happen I'd expect more sympathy from the bank if you were using their own app on a supported device versus web on a public PC.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Credit CardsSavings & investments, and Budgeting & Bank Accounts boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
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  • GeoffTF
    GeoffTF Posts: 1,908 Forumite
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    edited 11 May 2024 at 6:16PM
    If anything bad were to happen I'd expect more sympathy from the bank if you were using their own app on a supported device versus web on a public PC.
    Banks typically say that the requirement for running their app is Android 8 or above. Android 8 has not received any security updates for years. I recently saw a security comparison for the banks' apps. Some of them did not look at all good. If your account was hacked, I expect that the bank would say would say that it was your fault, not theirs.
  • boingy
    boingy Posts: 1,864 Forumite
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    I think the most secure way is to do all your app banking at home on your own WiFi. You don't really need to be walking around with full access to all of your accounts in your pocket. If you have a tablet or iPad that mostly lives at home then put the apps on that rather than on your phone.

    The current Revolut TV advert is a prime example of stuff you really don't need to do urgently. It's all stuff that can wait until you are at home relaxing with a coffee, where you can be fully focussed on, for example, how much you are increasing the kids pocket money by...  :)
  • lr1277
    lr1277 Posts: 2,098 Forumite
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    As a reminder, your home wifi is only secure if you have setup a unique password to access the wifi. Do not use the default password supplied by the maker of your wifi kit.
  • Zanderman
    Zanderman Posts: 4,852 Forumite
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    lr1277 said:
    As a reminder, your home wifi is only secure if you have setup a unique password to access the wifi. Do not use the default password supplied by the maker of your wifi kit.
    Unless it is, actually, not a default password but one unique to that unit.  BT's routers, for instance, always have (as far as I know) passwords unique to each unit. Nothing to stop you changing those of course, but probably unnecessary.

    Getting back to OP's query, yes, using an up-to-date (i.e. still supported) android phone in your care is nominally safer than a public computer for which you have no control over security updates etc. Nothing is absolutely 100% safe though.    

    OP doesn't actually say whether, on their phone, they're using the bank's own app or still using a web browser. It would be safer to use the bank's app.  
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