A recent study revealed that iOS apps pose a greater risk of leaking user information to others than Android apps.
It is commonly believed that Android users are more vulnerable to data theft than users of other OS platforms. The Google-owned mobile OS might even own the lion's share when it comes to malware, but that does not mean it is any less secure. In fact, a surprising revelation from an app risk management company, Appthority, found that top apps on iOS App Store pose a greater threat to users than Android apps. The study says that Apple's top apps are more likely to leak users' personal information to others.
"Yes, there are hundreds of thousands out there that won't cost you a cent to download. But they still extract a price," Appthority said in a detailed study report, released last week. "The price, at a minimum, is information - about you. As more than one expert has said, "You are the payment." And that payment is not risk-free."
For the study, Appthority analyzed 400 apps, the top 100 free and top 100 paid apps for both app stores in question. The results of the study showed a massive 91 percent of the top iOS apps to pass user's personal information to others, compared to Android's 83 percent. For both platforms, 95 percent of the 200 top free apps and 80 percent of the top paid apps posed a risk of data theft. In an attempt to find new ways to generate revenue, developers are opening a back door for user's private data, Appthority noted.
According to the report, among free mobile apps on Android and iOS, 82 percent app identified the user device ID, 64 percent learnt of the wireless carrier, 59 percent allowed location tracking of the last point, 55 percent continuously track location, 26 percent know the SIM card number and an alarming 36 percent know user's account information.
"Apps are generally collecting more information than they need," Domingo Guerra, cofounder and president of Appthority, pointed. "Why does a flashlight app need my location, calendar, and address book? The issue this creates is that these databases are not always built securely and can become targets for criminals or governments."
On an advisory note, Bogdan "Bob" Botezatu, senior e-threat analyst at Bitdefender asked users to limit themselves from installing unnecessary apps and check for trustworthy publishers before actually downloading the app.
"The smaller the number of applications installed, the smaller the attack surface," he said.
