Privacy and social networking have never been a hotter topic, and discovering just how many apps have access to your various social networks can be a sobering thought, particularly as you’ll probably not remember half of them even exist, never mind that you signed up for them.

MyPermissions is a free app for Android (including Kindle Fire) and iPhone that allows you to review – and crucially edit – permissions for all the apps and services linked to a wide range of online accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo!, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Instagram, FourSquare, and Flickr. More will no doubt follow in due course.

Log into each account separately, and then wait while MyPermissions scans for apps and permissions. Don’t panic if it initially claims it’s found none – the app tends to jump the gun, and once the screen clears a more accurate picture is painted. From here you can manage individual networks by tapping the name, which takes you to the service’s own apps page where you can revoke access manually.

Better still, the add-in will also alert you – either from within the app or using your phone’s notifications system – whenever an app from a supported service (Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo! or Dropbox) accesses your personal information, you know what’s going on and when.

Does it work? Yes it does, although it feels a little clunkier in mobile form than when accessed through your browser, and by visiting the service’s FAQ page [http://mypermissions.com/faq] you can be reassured that you’re not trading one form of privacy compromise for another.