Android gets a lot of flack for having a malware problem and being generally more unsafe to use than iOS, however there is a significant circumstance according to a new report in which Android prevails in the safety department. Apparently, Android apps on average share less of your personal data than iOS apps might. This means that despite Apple’s controversial approval process, iOS apps are slightly more sneaky with your information.
The news comes from Appthority’s February 2013 App Report that examined the top 50 free apps in both the iOS App Store and Google Play for the use of potentially harmful use of personal information. There are six main types in the study: sending/receiving data without encryption, ad networks and/or analytics, location tracking, single sign-on support, contacts/addresses, and other.
Every single app (100 percent) in the App Store top 50 sent/received information without encryption, while 92 percent did in the Google Play top 50. Ad networks/analytics were present in 60 percent of iOS apps and 50 percent of Android, location tracking in 60 percent of iOS and 42 percent of Android… you see the trend.
It seems like this is something Apple may need to tackle in the future if it truly does become controversial, although there’s no calling whether that will happen or not. Some of the categories, though, like single sign-on support aren’t dangerous in and of themselves. They just provide gateways to possibly dangerous behavior for personal data within the apps.