Apps for Apple and Android smartphones appear to collect and send many user information to third parties, according to recent studies.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard, and Carnegie Mellon studied 110 apps available on Google Play and the App Store.
They found that 73% of Android apps share users' email addresses , and 47% of iOS apps share location data.
The Personal Data Protection Authority reports that they have far more evidence of how our devices «betray».
The study, titled Who Knows What About Me?, investigates the background behind these apps and how they share users' personal data with third parties. The study examined 55 of the most popular Android apps and the same number of iOS apps.
Οι ερευνητές κατέγραψαν την κυκλοφορία μέσω HTTP και HTTPS κατά τη χρήση των διαφόρων εφαρμογών και έψαξαν για τις μεταδόσεις που περιλαμβάνουν προσωπικά στοιχεία, στοιχεία συμπεριφοράς, όπως όρους αναζήτησης και δεδομένα θέσης.
They found that Android apps sent sensitive data to 3.1 of third‑party domains on average, while iOS apps connected on average to 2.6 of third‑party domains.
Android apps share more personal information, such as name (49% of apps) and address (25%), compared with iOS apps, where 18% shared names and 16% shared email addresses.
Significant data emerged from the health-related apps, where 3 out of the 30 apps shared search terms and the data entered by users with third parties.
Finally, Android apps were more likely to leak data to Google and Facebook, with the Text Free app being the one that leaks the most, as it offers free calls and messages over Wi‑Fi. This particular app sends data to 11 third‑party domains.
