A new iPhone app named TigerText is the subject of several recent news articles. Time.com has posted an article entitled TigerText: An iPhone App for Cheating Spouses? PCWorld has a similar article named TigerText: The App for Spies and Cheaters. TigerText allows the sender of a text to specify when his or her text will be deleted from the recipient’s phone (e.g., delete after reading, delete after fifteen minutes). The press has obviously identified TigerText’s primary market as couples who are inclined to infidelity. Does it mean, then, that if I have TigerText installed that I am sneaking around behind my wife’s back? One could argue that I would not need this app if I had nothing to hide, and I agree; however, I do have something to hide. I want to have the ability to quickly, easily, and privately share a password with a friend, but not his nosy roommates; I want to have the ability to text my credit card number to my parents without worrying if they are going to delete that text or not. Especially in the age of Google, we need more privacy protecting systems like TigerText. It is a shame that simply having TigerText installed on my iPhone so closely associates me with immoral actions. Everyday people who are completely honest with their wives need to learn why it is important for them to install and use data privacy programs such as TigerText.
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