Researchers at Surfshark analyzed 171 Apple App Store applications developed by tech giants Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta. The study evaluated 35 data categories, including browsing history, purchase details, and precise location.
According to the findings, Meta services request the most information, averaging 25 out of 35 possible data types. That is more than three times the amount collected by Microsoft and Apple. Furthermore, the seven most data-intrusive apps all belong to Meta: Facebook, Messenger, Meta AI, Meta Horizon, Meta Ads Manager, Meta Business Suite, and Forum.
By comparison, Google apps collect an average of 17 data types, Amazon collects 12, Microsoft collects 8, and Apple collects 7. However, Google leads in the total number of data-hungry services, accounting for 29 of the top 40 such apps, compared to Meta's 9 and Amazon's 2.
Among non-Meta applications, Amazon Alexa collects the most information, requesting 28 data categories. In addition, browsing history is tracked by 9 Meta services, 11 Amazon apps, and 8 Google apps. Apple and Microsoft proved to be the most conservative: for example, 13 Apple utilities collect an average of 6 data types, whereas comparable Google services collect 17.
