Popular Mobile Apps in Europe Collect Extensive User Data, Report Finds
An analysis carried out by the privacy protection firm Incogni reveals that many of the most downloaded mobile applications in Europe originate from companies located outside the European Union and collect a very high volume of personal data from their users.
The report, focused on apps available on Google Play, warns that some of this information is shared with third parties, which can pose an added privacy risk when data leaves the EU regulatory environment.
According to the study, most of the popular applications in the region belong to American companies, such as Meta, or Chinese companies like ByteDance, owner of TikTok and TikTok Lite. Services from other origins also stand out, including Telegram and Viber.
In general,these apps collect an average of 19 diffrent types of data,though this figure drops to 15 within the meta ecosystem,which collects the most personal information.
mark Zuckerberg’s company tops the list of most intrusive applications: Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Threads can access practically all types of data permitted by Google play. This includes extremely sensitive information such as political orientation, financial history, religious beliefs, and even health-related data.
TikTok is also a important collector of data: the short video platform gathers personal and financial information, user-generated content, phone contacts, and usage data for multiple purposes.
The study also analyzes the number of “purposes” apps declare to justify collecting and using this information. Some streaming platforms, such as Prime Video, list up to 61 different purposes, while TikTok declares 59 uses for the information it obtains. A ample portion of these purposes is linked to advertising and data exchange with third parties.
!TikTok collects up to 24 types of data from Spanish users
The Case of Spain: TikTok, HBO Max, and Prime Video Lead
Incogni highlights that the three most downloaded foreign apps in Spain over the last 12 months are TikTok, HBO Max, and Prime Video. All three collect and share a particularly high amount of data compared to the European average.
According to the report, users in Spain use applications that collect 17.3 types of data on average and share around 9 classes with third parties.
In the specific case of TikTok, this figure rises to 24 types of data collected.