No joke, smartphones are expensive. In earlier days, cellular providers made it pretty easy for users to upgrade after two years for next to nothing. Most of those deals have vanished. Thus, it only makes sense that smartphone users would try to hold on to their phones for longer periods of time. Whether you use an iPhone or an Android, there are some dangers in using a phone that is three years old or older. In particular, there are major issues for Android users.

If you own an Android smartphone, consider this: last May, Google’s developer dashboard showed that almost 40% of Android users still operate smartphones using versions 5.0 to version 7.0, which haven’t been updated for between one and four years. (The current version of the OS is version 10.) Using a device with an old operating system (OS) is never a good idea on any computing device but especially on Android phones as they are already susceptible to viruses and malware. (You are running anti-virus/anti-malware software on your Android, right?) Old operating systems are far more likely to be hacked, putting your personal information at risk.

Besides the security issues of using an older version of software, there are features you are usually missing out on, too. As much as being frugal is a good idea, when it comes to smartphones, it might be better to be safe than sorry.

Need to find your device’s Android version number, security update level and Google Play system level? Just follow these easy instructions from Google: