Communications of the ACM
Three Quarters of Android Apps Track sers With Third Party Tools
A new study found that three-quarters of the apps available on the Google Play Store incorporate some type of tracking plugin.
More than 75% of Android applications contain at least one third-party tracking tool, according to a joint report from Yale University's Privacy Lab and French research organization Exodus Privacy.
The researchers analyzed the mobile apps for the signatures of 25 established trackers that collect personal information from users for tailored ads and services.
Tracking plugins were found in some of the most popular apps on the Google Play Store, including Tinder, Spotify, Uber, and OKCupid, which employ Google's Crashlytics service.
The researchers also found less popular trackers such as FidZup, which can glean deeper insights on user behavior and location.
The Yale researchers are using their findings to urge app developers and Google to support "increased transparency into privacy and security practice as it relates to these trackers." They say their results should be worrying to scholars, privacy proponents, and security researchers, and warn Apple's App Store may be similarly rife with trackers.
From The Guardian
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