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A Smartphone and online banking

Outeast1000
Posts: 116 Forumite

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 ?
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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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.1
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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 !1 -
Outeast1000 said: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 & paid2 -
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.4 -
you can safely use public wifi all data to and from the app is encrypted9
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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 Cards, Savings & 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.
All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.2 -
sausage_time said: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.
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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...2 -
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.
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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.
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.2
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