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Tech companies have talked more about privacy in recent years, and Apple proudly says it protects user data more than anyone else. This week, a new study by Douglas Leith of Trinity College showed that Google collects up to 20 times more data from Android users compared to the data Apple collects from iOS users.
As reported by Ars Technica, the research analyzed the amount of telemetry data transmitted directly to companies responsible for iOS and Android operating systems. It checked not only the data sent to Apple or Google through preinstalled apps, but also during periods of inactivity.
Another interesting point about this research is that it also takes into account the data sent by users who have chosen not to share any information with companies in the settings of each operating system.
IOS and Android, said researcher Douglas Leith of Trinity College in Ireland, transmit telemetry data to their mother ships even when a user has not signed in or has explicitly configured privacy settings to opt out of this collection. . Both operating systems also send data to Apple and Google when a user performs simple tasks such as inserting a SIM card or navigating the handset’s settings screen. Even when idle, each device connects to its main server every 4.5 minutes on average.
While iOS automatically collects data from Siri, Safari, and iCloud to send to Apple, Android gets data from Chrome, YouTube, Google Docs, Safetyhub, Google Messenger, Clock, and Search, even when the user is not. logged into a Google account. Interestingly, iOS sends around 42KB of data to Apple right after the device starts up. Android, on the other hand, sends 1MB of data to Google.
When idle, Android sends around 1MB of data to Google every 12 hours, compared to iOS which sends around 52KB to Apple over the same period. In the United States alone, Android collectively collects approximately 1.3TB of data every 12 hours. During the same period, iOS collects around 5.8 GB.
A Google spokesperson said Ars Technica that the company disagrees with this research because it considers it essential that iOS and Android devices send and receive data to the businesses behind them, which helps them keep their software up to date and verify that everything is working as expected. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Update: Google also contacted 9to5Mac with a statement on the study, which you can read below.
We identified flaws in the researcher’s methodology for measuring data volume, and we disagree with the paper’s claims that an Android device shares 20 times more data than an iPhone. According to our research, these results are shifted by an order of magnitude, and we shared our methodological concerns with the researcher before publication.
This research largely describes how smartphones work. Modern cars routinely send basic data about vehicle components, their safety condition, and maintenance schedules to car manufacturers, and cell phones operate in a very similar fashion. This report details these communications, which help ensure that iOS or Android software is up to date, services are working as expected, and the phone is secure and running efficiently.
The company believes the methodology the researchers used was not ideal and confirms that Android and Google’s APIs are designed to work with different types of devices, saying telemetry data is needed to adjust the platform. form to different smartphones and tablets.
The full research with more details is available in this PDF file for those interested in learning more about the study.
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