Meta and Google mobile apps gorge on user data: Study
A study of mobile apps claims that Meta collects three times as much user data on average as tools published by Apple or Microsoft. Google is also one of the worst data-scavenging offenders.
The research was conducted by the reassuringly named Surfshark, a VPN and security tools provider. It found that Meta's apps were the most "data-hungry," declaring an average of 25 out of 35 possible data types, compared with seven or eight for apps from Apple and Microsoft.
The findings are based on privacy information submitted by developers to Apple's App Store, rather than independent observation of what the apps transmit. They count the number of data types an app may collect, not the amount or frequency of collection, and do not mean that every category is gathered from every user.
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Surfshark examined 171 iOS apps published by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, making this a comparison of five tech giants rather than the wider app market.
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Google accounted for 29 of the 40 apps declaring the broadest data collection, although it was also overrepresented in the sample, with 44 apps – more than any other publisher. Nine of Meta's 12 apps made the top 40.
The 29 Google apps declared between 18 and 26 data types each. Amazon Alexa was the most data-hungry non-Meta app, listing 28.
All the Meta apps studied declared the collection of device IDs, product interactions, performance information, and crash data, Surfshark says. Nine listed precise location data, which the researchers argued went beyond what the apps were likely to need, while seven listed browsing history.
Although Google's apps listed fewer data types on average than Meta's, they ranked as the most data-hungry in six App Store categories: Photo & Video, Music, Entertainment, Utilities, Health & Fitness, and Developer Tools.
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All the Google apps examined listed device IDs, diagnostic information, and performance data, while many declared search histories, purchase histories, photos or videos, email addresses, and usernames.
Amazon's apps commonly listed device IDs, email addresses, names, performance information, product interactions, and crash data. Eleven declared precise location data, while one listed browsing history – Amazon Shopper.
Apps from Microsoft and Apple declared the fewest data types on average among those Surfshark examined, although neither emerged entirely empty-handed.
The data types most commonly listed by Microsoft apps included crash data, device IDs, email addresses, names, diagnostic and performance information, product interactions, and user IDs. Two also declared browsing history.
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Safari was the only Apple app to list browsing history, while six Apple apps declared precise location data. Other commonly listed types included device IDs, email addresses, and performance information.
"Our research shows that the Big Tech business model is often built on an insatiable appetite for user information," said Surfshark research lead Dr Luis Costa.
"When these giants weave together search history, purchase habits, and precise GPS coordinates across dozens of different apps, they are building a detailed digital map of users' lives." m®
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