Study: Free Smartphone Apps More Prone To Leak Personal Information
San Francisco, Calif. (CBS SACRAMENTO) -- Free iPhone and iPad apps from Apple's App Store pose a larger privacy risk than free apps from Google.
A new study from Appthority – a cellphone app analysis service – finds that personal information and files are more likely to leak from an iOS as opposed to the Android. There is a 10 percent difference between the two mobile giants regarding how much information is shared with advertisers.
Sixty percent of the iOS apps shared data with advertising and analytic companies, while 50 percent of Android apps revealed such information.
Appthority is a California-based tech company that seeks to increase customer interaction and familiarity with their devices.
The study uncovered data that found iOS apps were much leakier than their Android counterparts. In total, 60 percent of iOS apps gathered customer location data, 54 percent soaked up contact lists and 14 percent took information from customer calendars stored on the phone.
The study suggests that the difference could be a result of their demand from advertising companies. The advertisers that desire data from such apps will pay more for iOS information, which allows for unencrypted data collection.
A 2012 Pew Research Center study found that some 85 percent of American adults own a cell phone. Collection of news remains an important part of what people do on their mobile devices with 64 percent of tablet owners and 62 percent of smartphone owners say they use the devices for news at least weekly.
