How to Get Your $0.85 Dairy Queen Blizzard This April

What happened

Dairy Queen will celebrate the first signs of summer with new flavors and a special offer on its iconic Blizzards. In a nod to 1985, the year Blizzards were first sold, customers can score one for just $0.85 from April 10 to 23. According to USA Today, to get yours, all you need to do is download the Dairy Queen app.

So what

April's Blizzard of the month is S'mores, a returning old favorite, but you'll find a flurry of other summer menu items in stores too. For starters, Dairy Queen will launch two new summer flavors: Peanut Butter Puppy Chow and Oreo Brookie. It's also bringing back its Cotton Candy and Choco-Dipped Strawberry Blizzards.

The $0.85 deal is appealing -- who wouldn't want to get a nostalgia-laced ice cream treat for less than a dollar? But in terms of your finances, offers like these raise an interesting question. Is it worth downloading an app or sharing your personal data to save a couple of dollars?

Now what

There are some serious savings to be found on coupon and cash-back apps. In addition to individual offers like the $0.85 Blizzard, apps can be a good way to snag some great discounts. But they can also increase your risk of fraud, identity theft, and malware, so it's worth treading carefully.

If you're a Dairy Queen regular, the app lets you access special offers like this one and also earn points and keep tabs on the latest new products. If that's useful to you, great. But if you're only interested in a one-time deal, you might be better off uninstalling the app after you've taken advantage of the offer.

Here are some other ways to reduce the risks when installing apps or signing up for deals:

• Pay attention to what data the app collects: Some apps track your location, others might want to access your camera or contacts. Understand what the app will access, why it needs it, and how it will use your information. Use the settings on your phone to control what each app can do.
• Understand what the company will do with your data: There's a reason companies get you to share your contact information or download an app to access offers. They want to build a profile of your habits. Check the user agreement to make sure you're comfortable with how your data will be used and how it will be kept secure.
• Set up a separate email address to use for promotional offers: If an offer only wants your email address, don't give them your personal one. That way there's less chance the address you use to, say, log into your bank account, could be sold to unknown third parties.
• Only download apps from sources you trust: According to G DATA, a cybersecurity firm, last year attackers released two to three apps containing malware per minute. Be cautious about what you install, and consider using antivirus software.