Many smartphone users have no idea how many times their apps share private information with third parties on a daily basis, according to a study.

This private information includes location of users, their phone calls and contact numbers.

Researchers from the Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S. conducted interviews with smartphone users to learn more about their responses.

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The study was also aimed at evaluating the benefits of using app permission managers and privacy nudges to inform users about what's happening to their data. App permission managers enable users to allow which information apps can have access to.

The result shows many users feeling shocked and surprised at the number of times their apps are sharing their information. They also usually act quickly to change their privacy settings as soon as they found out.

"4,182 times -- are you kidding me?" one participant asked. "It felt like I'm being followed by my own phone. It was scary. That number is too high."

"The number 356 times was huge, unexpected." said another participant. In fact, most smartphone users have no way of acquiring data about app behavior, said the researchers.

During the trial, researchers first gathered data from 23 participants using their own Android mobile devices. After a week, the participants were given access to AppOps, which is an app permission manager. After another week, the findings were presented to them.

"App permission managers are better than nothing, but by themselves they aren't sufficient," said Norman Sadeh, a professor at the School of Computer Science's Institute for Software Research.

"Privacy nudges can play an important role in increasing awareness and in motivating people to review and adjust their privacy settings." Sadeh added.

"The fact that users respond to privacy nudges indicate that they really care about privacy, but were just unaware of how much information was being collected about them,"

Hazim Almuhimedi, a Ph.D. student at the Institute for Software Research, is expected to present the findings along with Sadeh and other researchers at CHI 2015 conference to be held in Seoul, South Korea from April 18 to April 23.

Tagsapps, Private information, Smartphone Users, Carnegie Mellon University, App Behavior