About a decade ago, a security expert referred to mobile phones as 'tracking devices that make phone calls.' The way mobile phone networks have been architected and a principal focus on functionality, mobile phones (and most mobile devices) have de-emphasized privacy and security.
These devices, even if not infected/compromised, leak important data about you.
For example, even if you are not making a phone call, the people who manage the phone network can track your real-time location.
Until recently, any application installed on your device could access the 'clipboard' (where you cut, copy, and paste data temporarily) at any time.
Voice commands are usually processed in the cloud (at the vendor’s data centers), which means they likely have access to anything you say in the device’s proximity.
Efforts to make them 'just work' mean that when designers chose between privacy/security and usability, the choice was almost always prejudiced towards usability.
Since the global surveillance disclosures in 2013, some of the vendors have started to enable privacy/security features without compromising the value proposition that mobile devices present to users.
We will talk about the risks and the things you can do to improve your mobile device usage. Still, if you ever absolutely need a private conversation, it is recommended that you keep the phone/tablet in a different room.