Dropbox, for example, only connects to and on my device, as well as to a few devices on my network. If you have multiple tabs open, there’s probably going to be ongoing connections related to each of those tabs.įor single-purpose applications, though, what you see should be a lot more straightforward. Your web browser, for example, is probably connected to not only the websites you’re looking at, but also to the companies serving ads on those websites, a few tracking services, and possibly more.

How many locations an application connects to can vary wildly, and can give you a good idea of how companies end up with your data. Click any app, and the map to the right of the panel will show you where, on Earth, the services that app is connecting to are physically located. The taller the bar, the more bandwidth the app is currently using. Beside each app is a bar graph highlighting recent network activity. When you open Little Snitch Mini, you’ll see a panel on the left-hand side of the window with the list of programs running on your Mac. The interface is entirely free of jargon and technical terms, meaning anyone can use it and learn about what their computer is doing. There have always been applications like this, but Little Snitch Mini is different because of how comprehensible it is. And even if everything looks OK now, familiarizing yourself with your computer’s normal connections may help you quickly spot any suspicious changes. Noticing an app keeps connecting to servers in an unexpected country could be the first sign that you have a security issue. If you live in the United States, for example, there’s a good chance that relatively few of the services you use are based in places like Russia. This simple program will show you, at a glance, which apps are connected to the web and where those connections are in the world. You probably know that the applications on your Mac are constantly connecting to the internet, but what exactly are they connecting to? Little Snitch Mini is a free app you can use to find out.

Little snitch like app for android