Having treated yourself to a brand new smartphone, you might be wondering what apps you want to download. Well, before grabbing your favorite games, movie and music streaming apps, and anything else, there are 4 types of apps you should install before all others.

These apps are designed to protect your device, the data on it, and your online surfing experience. Read through our list and you will learn exactly what you need to protect your brand new phone.

  1. A Reliable Firewall

Whenever you unpack a new smartphone the very first software you should install is a firewall. The last thing you want is unauthorized programs accessing the internet and downloading malicious software such as trojans and malware that could compromise your personal information or damage your new phone.

The best firewalls require purchasing but at the minimum you should be using a free one that has a good reputation.

  1. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) App

If you value your online privacy, a VPN is a must-have Apple iPhone app to download and install on your mobile device. They allow you to surf the internet anonymously, hide your IP address and location, and even allow you to circumvent geo-restrictions placed on online  media content.

There are tons of great VPN providers but to find the one best suited to you, use online privacy review sites such as Internetetsecurite.

  1. A Password Manager

We all know that it is not a good idea to use the same password for all the plethora of email, social media, online banking, e-wallets and all other types of app accounts. That said, it can be difficult to keep track of the many passwords that we use. Rather than annoyingly having to reset your passwords when you forget, you should install a password manager. This securely stores all your passwords in one place for those times when you forget them.

  1. An Effective Ad-Blocker

As you probably know, ads can be frustrating, annoying, and intrusive when surfing the internet, particularly when using a small screen on a smartphone. They pop up out of nowhere, block part of your screen and just generally ruin your browsing experience. To combat this, grab yourself an in-browser ad blocker that will put paid to all intrusive ads.

There are free and paid versions available, so do your research before choosing one that you think will effectively keep ads away from your screen.

There You Have It!

As you unbox your next smartphone, you now know which apps to install to help protect it. Once done, you can set about installing more fun apps such as games, messengers and social media. Just make sure that any app is a reputable one before you install it on your phone.