A
recent study conducted by Appthority indicates that the most popular
free apps on Apple’s iOS platform are sharing more user data than the
most popular apps on Google’s Android platform. The report looked at the
top performing free mobile apps across both iOS and Android. Despite
Android’s reputation as a less secure platform, the report found Apple
iOS apps allowed to engage in more risky behaviours. 50 of the top free
iOS apps and 92 per cent of the top 50 free Android apps send and
receive data without encryption. iOS apps have more access to user data,
with 60 per cent of the top apps tracking user location, 54 per cent
having access to a user’s contact list, 60 per cent sharing data with ad
or analytics networks and 14 per cent access user’s calendars. A number
of questionable policies and security concerns have painted Google’s
Android platform as inherently less secure than Apple’s iOS. Android
does appear to be more vulnerable to malware than iOS, but mobile
malware affects only one percent of apps. The study concludes that
should be over how mobile apps handle personal information and company
data.
More information available at
http://cert-mu.gov.mu/English/Pages/Information%20Security%20News/Apple-iOS-apps-leak-more-personal-data-than-do-Android-apps-.aspx
