{"id":1216,"date":"2024-10-15T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/?p=1216"},"modified":"2024-10-14T16:15:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T21:15:11","slug":"risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">There are many free app and software platforms available to small businesses and entrepreneurs. But, stop and think before downloading and utilizing these free tools. At a glance, they seem like a cost effective resource. However, these type of digital tools are a risk for several reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">When you use these free apps and software platforms to handle any aspect of your financial planning business, you may be opening your information \u2014 and your client\u2019s information \u2014 up to cybersecurity risks. Free apps and software are typically free because you are trading information for the privilege of using the tool. This is often information that should be considered private and secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-some-of-the-risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\">Some of the Risks of Using Free Apps and Software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Free apps often ask to access your location, your contacts or your camera roll. These are red flags for sure and could mean that this app could now be tracking you, gathering data and figuring out how to use, sell or exploit that information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">It might be that free apps simply want to target \u00a0you and your contacts for advertising, based on the demographic information they\u2019ve gathered from you. However, this could violate GDPR or CCPA policies and regulatory requirements. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Worse, it could mean that malicious hackers could implant malware and spyware thru that free app to paralyze your computer or website, steal your payment information and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-consequences-and-penalties\">Consequences and Penalties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Free software and apps often have licensing agreements that restrict commercial use. So, by using them for your business you are exposing your business to potential legal liabilities and financial penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Overall, avoid negative consequences by steering clear of free apps and software for company business. At Integrated Advisor Network, we provide access to multiple helpful tools and platforms that will help you handle your data and your client\u2019s secure information in a safe, compliant way. Interested in discussing this topic further, <a href=\"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a>. We would love to talk to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re in the financial advisory industry, stop and think before you download and use free apps and software.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[95,171,52,172,27],"class_list":["post-1216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alliance-program","tag-alliance-partners","tag-alliance-program","tag-cybersecurity","tag-digital-tools","tag-financial-advisor"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.3 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Risks of Using Free Apps and Software - Integrated Advisors Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019re in the financial advisory industry, stop and think before you download and use free apps and software.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019re in the financial advisory industry, stop and think before you download and use free apps and software.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Integrated Advisors Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-15T05:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"562\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Integrated Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Integrated Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The Integrated Team\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/box5382.temp.domains\\\/~ntegrbo0\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f321bf0bb2a0e7aae220a26d95c33ef3\"},\"headline\":\"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-15T05:01:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":331,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/staging\\\/4015\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Alliance Partners\",\"Alliance Program\",\"cybersecurity\",\"Digital tools\",\"financial advisor\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Alliance Program\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/\",\"name\":\"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software - Integrated Advisors Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/box5382.temp.domains\\\/~ntegrbo0\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/staging\\\/4015\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-15T05:01:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/box5382.temp.domains\\\/~ntegrbo0\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f321bf0bb2a0e7aae220a26d95c33ef3\"},\"description\":\"If you\u2019re in the financial advisory industry, stop and think before you download and use free apps and software.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/staging\\\/4015\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/staging\\\/4015\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":562},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/staging\\\/4015\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/box5382.temp.domains\\\/~ntegrbo0\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/box5382.temp.domains\\\/~ntegrbo0\\\/\",\"name\":\"Integrated Advisors Network\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/box5382.temp.domains\\\/~ntegrbo0\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/box5382.temp.domains\\\/~ntegrbo0\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f321bf0bb2a0e7aae220a26d95c33ef3\",\"name\":\"The Integrated Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2dcd758d736123665e85c3c4f3b57f70e93188ac8be7220832ff72c8f1e55175?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2dcd758d736123665e85c3c4f3b57f70e93188ac8be7220832ff72c8f1e55175?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2dcd758d736123665e85c3c4f3b57f70e93188ac8be7220832ff72c8f1e55175?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Integrated Team\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\\\/staging\\\/4015\\\/author\\\/media\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software - Integrated Advisors Network","description":"If you\u2019re in the financial advisory industry, stop and think before you download and use free apps and software.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software","og_description":"If you\u2019re in the financial advisory industry, stop and think before you download and use free apps and software.","og_url":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/","og_site_name":"Integrated Advisors Network","article_published_time":"2024-10-15T05:01:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":562,"url":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"The Integrated Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Integrated Team","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/"},"author":{"name":"The Integrated Team","@id":"http:\/\/box5382.temp.domains\/~ntegrbo0\/#\/schema\/person\/f321bf0bb2a0e7aae220a26d95c33ef3"},"headline":"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software","datePublished":"2024-10-15T05:01:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/"},"wordCount":331,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg","keywords":["Alliance Partners","Alliance Program","cybersecurity","Digital tools","financial advisor"],"articleSection":["Alliance Program"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/","url":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/","name":"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software - Integrated Advisors Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/box5382.temp.domains\/~ntegrbo0\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-15T05:01:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/box5382.temp.domains\/~ntegrbo0\/#\/schema\/person\/f321bf0bb2a0e7aae220a26d95c33ef3"},"description":"If you\u2019re in the financial advisory industry, stop and think before you download and use free apps and software.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software.jpg","width":800,"height":562},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/risks-of-using-free-apps-and-software\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Risks of Using Free Apps and Software"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/box5382.temp.domains\/~ntegrbo0\/#website","url":"http:\/\/box5382.temp.domains\/~ntegrbo0\/","name":"Integrated Advisors Network","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/box5382.temp.domains\/~ntegrbo0\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/box5382.temp.domains\/~ntegrbo0\/#\/schema\/person\/f321bf0bb2a0e7aae220a26d95c33ef3","name":"The Integrated Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2dcd758d736123665e85c3c4f3b57f70e93188ac8be7220832ff72c8f1e55175?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2dcd758d736123665e85c3c4f3b57f70e93188ac8be7220832ff72c8f1e55175?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2dcd758d736123665e85c3c4f3b57f70e93188ac8be7220832ff72c8f1e55175?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"The Integrated Team"},"url":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/author\/media\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1216"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1223,"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1216\/revisions\/1223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratedadvisorsnetwork.com\/staging\/4015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}