Study examined 640 of the most popular shopping apps currently available via the Google Play Store. About two-thirds of these make use of ad libraries, and on average these apps connect with 1.8 ad networks that can share phone permissions.
Security leak of manufacturing keys from major device producers (such as LG and Samsung) allows signing of malware apps, providing full access to an Android device, as the operating system trusts any signed app with complete system-level access.
Google recently announced that its Privacy Sandbox initiative is now also being rolled out for Android, in a move comparable to the ad tracking privacy changes made by Apple in 2021.
An in-depth study from the University of Oxford has examined 24,000 Apple App Store and Google Play apps, and found that Apple's "walled garden" approach has not necessarily made a difference in terms of app privacy.
The unique device identifier that Apple uses for personalized ad tracking, the IDFA, has been in the news lately. You may soon be hearing just as much about Google's equivalent for Android, the AAID.
Popular Android file-sharing app SHAREit with over a billion downloads has a security flaw that could leak users’ sensitive information and allow remote code execution.
Though Google is more reliant on targeted advertising for revenue than Apple, a recent report cites company insiders in suggesting that similar anti-tracking measures are being considered for Android.
TikTok was dealt another blow when it was discovered to have been engaging in undisclosed user tracking in the Android version of its app.
