User privacy is a rapidly growing concern in the new digital age, and with smartphone adoption approaching higher and higher rates, the public has started to take notice when companies use their data for illicit purposes.

But knowing what apps to trust is not always simple, as some of the worst offenders of user privacy come from unexpected places. In December 2013, for example, it was discovered that a flashlight app called Brightest Flashlight had been secretly sharing user location data with advertisers.

PrivacyGrade.org, a database maintained by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, makes it easier for users to see what apps might be sharing their information without their knowledge.

Lead researcher Jason Hong spoke at PopTech 2013 about the need to improve privacy tools, both for users and developers. He explained that addressing privacy is not only important for protecting users, but also in preventing people from avoiding beneficial new technology out of fear. Hong said:

If we fail to address the privacy and security issues, we could blunt the adoption of amazing technologies with huge societal benefits.

PrivacyGrade breaks down what permissions different apps require and how they use them. The grade takes into account the type of data accessed by the app, as well as how that data is used in contrast to user expectations.

Hong said: “Most people don’t think Angry Birds uses location data when in reality it does. And so there is this big gap here, and we call this a privacy problem.” According to Hong, no one would be surprised to discover that Google Maps uses their location data, so it is less of a privacy problem.

Facebook, which has faced its fair share of privacy criticisms in the past, received an A from PrivacyGrade. Google Maps, Youtube, and WhatsApp received equally high grades, while other apps like Fruit Ninja and Talking Tom received D’s.

Closing his talk at PopTech, Hong asked: “How can we create a connected world that we would want to live in?”