(Credit:Zain bin Awais/PCMag Composite;Apple)
Chances are, many apps of the apps on your phone quietly harvest a ton of data they don't need, mostly so that data can be packaged and sold, or used by the company for advertising. Companies leech data from your devices in exchange for the service they offer, sometimes without your consent. It's shady, and very popular apps are guilty of this. The best way to know what you're getting into before downloading an app is to review the company's privacy policy. You can usually find a link to a company's policy on an app's landing page in the store or at the bottom of the company’s website. The next best way to learn about data collection is to read the app store's privacy reports. It's a good idea to look these over before installing any new app. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the most invasive apps that may be on your phone right now.
What Are the Most Invasive Apps?
The chart embedded below is based on research conducted and reported by IT Asset Management Group (IT-AMG), a firm specializing in secure IT asset disposal and enterprise-grade IT equipment buyback. Earlier this year, the firm's research team analyzed privacy policies from more than 5,000 apps in Apple's App Store.
Surprising Omissions
I was surprised not to see apps from Amazon or Google on this list until I looked at their entries in the App Store's privacy section. Neither company filled out the section listing the kinds of data it uses to track you across other apps and websites, but each admits to collecting massive amounts of data from at least 12 categories about you that it uses to link back to your identity. Despite these companies not noting their tracking data, I still call this level of data collection invasive, as an app should not require, for example, your health and fitness data to perform basic functions, as Amazon's shopping app does.
Keep in mind that companies self-report all of this information to Apple. That means companies could fail to mention certain forms of data collection or deliberately misclassify them to appear less invasive.
Invasive Apps Targeting Kids
Some apps designed for younger audiences also collect massive amounts of information, too. A research team at SafetyDetectives, a cybersecurity news and review site, analyzed 20 popular apps for kids. The analysts found that all the subscription apps in the study posed privacy risks. Specifically, 70% of the apps collected identifying information, and more than half shared user/child data with third parties.
Among the biggest privacy offenders on the list were popular platforms like Reading Eggs, a literacy tool for kids that collects audio and photo data from children's devices and uses customer data for advertising and personalization. ABCMouse, an early childhood learning app, not only collects device data but also shares that information with third parties. Plus, the SafetyDetectives research team flagged the service as being difficult to cancel or delete.
Parents should be cautious about the apps their kids request to install on their devices. Check the privacy reports of any educational or entertainment-related apps you install on shared devices for your kids, or apps on devices owned by your children.
Which Apps Share the Most of Your Data?
Now let’s look at the least surprising inclusions on the first list: Social media apps. Forming bonds online means voluntarily sharing massive amounts of personal information in return for likes and digital affection. That's why it's no surprise that some social apps use more than 90% of customer data to perform basic functions such as messaging or discovering new contacts. The social media apps on the list include the famous Meta quartet: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads, along with Meta's Business Suite. All of these apps collected more than 30 types of data and linked much of that data back to specific users, which is a privacy red flag.
It's also not surprising to see Nordstrom and American Eagle's shopping apps on the list. Shopping apps typically collect massive amounts of data from customers, and Nordstrom's privacy disclosure in the App Store shows the company tracks users across other apps and websites using their contact info, diagnostic data, identity information, location, purchase data, and usage data.
Location Matters, Too
According to research from data broker removal service Incogni, an app's country of origin may also determine its level of data collection. For example, the research shows that apps developed by Chinese-owned companies, such as Alibaba, Temu, and TikTok, all collect sensitive information from users, including addresses or approximate locations. Online shopping giant Alibaba was the standout app in this study, as it collects a significant amount of information about its customers, including requests to access users' documents, files, phone numbers, photos, and videos.
According to research from data broker removal service Incogni, an app's country of origin may also determine its level of data collection. For example, the research shows that apps developed by Chinese-owned companies, such as Alibaba, Temu, and TikTok, all collect sensitive information from users, including addresses or approximate locations. Online shopping giant Alibaba was the standout app in this study, as it collects a significant amount of information about its customers, including requests to access users' documents, files, phone numbers, photos, and videos.
When Is Data Collection Acceptable?
Sometimes you can't avoid data collection. Delivery, map, and weather apps all require your location to function properly. Looking at the list, it’s understandable to see a ride-sharing or delivery app like Grab. The app requires highly sensitive data, like your identity and location, to function. That said, why aren’t competitors like Lyft or DoorDash on the invasive apps list, too?
To find out, I compared the privacy reports of DoorDash, Lyft, and Grab. DoorDash collects the fewest types of data for tracking purposes, limiting it to customers' contact information, identifiers, location, purchases, and usage data. Grab collects a ton of tracking data, including contact info, location data, purchase data, users' search histories, phone diagnostics, financial information, and even your browsing history. All three apps collect vast amounts of information about your online habits and link it back to you to create customer profiles that help advertisers target you more effectively. It's not great! That’s why I recommend uninstalling the apps and using the browser-based versions the next time you order food or get a ride.
Should You Delete These Apps Now?
Just because an app didn't make one of these lists, that doesn't mean it's totally safe. For example, dating apps request a lot of information from you, so it's surprising not to see them on the list of invasive apps. Your profile information, messages, photos, and videos are private data you voluntarily give to an app company in exchange for a chance at love (or a romance scam). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, by the way. We all have our own paths to companionship. Just be aware that when you're putting yourself "out there," you're not only wooing a potential date but also adding to a data portfolio.
The best way to prevent companies from taking your data is to remove invasive apps from your phone. Instead of downloading the standalone app on your device, use the browser versions of popular social media apps.
When you download a new app, take a minute to scan the privacy reports on Apple's App Store or Google Play Store. If you're using an Android or iOS device, open the App Store, search for the app, then scroll to the Privacy section. Tap See Details to get a full rundown of what kinds of data companies are taking from you and how that data will be used.
If you haven't deleted any apps from your phone in a while, consider using the next five minutes to remove any apps you haven't used in the past month. There's no good reason to allow apps to monitor your browsing habits, collect your photos and videos for AI training, or log all your messages and notes.
If you can't remember the last time you used an app, it may be time to delete it. If you need it later, it'll still be in the app store, waiting for you—and your data.
About Our Expert
I review privacy tools like hardware security keys, password managers, private messaging apps, and ad-blocking software. I also report on online scams and offer advice to families and individuals about staying safe on the internet. Before joining PCMag, I wrote about tech and video games for CNN, Fanbyte, Mashable, The New York Times, and TechRadar. I also worked at CNN International, where I did field producing and reporting on sports that are popular with worldwide audiences.
In addition to the categories below, I exclusively cover ad blockers, authenticator apps, hardware security keys, and private messaging apps.
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