Data-sharing by free apps ‘out of control’

THE harvesting and sharing of data by mobile phone apps is out of control, researchers have warned.

They found that almost 90 per cent of free apps on the Google Play store shared data with Google parent company Alphabet. more than 40 per cent could transfer information about users to businesses ultimately owned by Facebook.

The Oxford researchers looked at almost a million apps on the UK and US Google Play stores. They found most contained ‘third-party tracking’, especially news apps and those targeted at children.

Apps downloaded on smartphones can by used by third parties to collect data, including age, gender, location details and information about other apps on a user’s phone. The data, which can be used for targeted advertising, credit scoring, or targeted political campaign messages, is highly lucrative.

Reuben Binns, who led the project, said because most apps were now free and making money from advertising, data sharing had spiralled out of control. ‘It feels like this legitimate business model has gone completely out of control and created a kind of chaotic industry,’ he told the Financial Times.

Google disputed the latest research, saying researchers mischaracterised ‘ordinary functions’, such as an app reporting back when it had crashed and its analytics.