Third party tracking is still the default on Android. This means that unsuspecting Android users are sharing their data without realizing it.
To show you how pervasive and unexpected this tracking is, we looked at apps popular during the holidays: cooking apps.
In our investigation of eight Android recipe apps, we found that all of the apps share data with advertising/marketing companies and most of the apps shared user information like what they clicked on in the app, and information about the device they were using with advertisers.
Google knows it needs to offer stronger privacy protections, so that Android users enjoy the same level of protection as Apple’s customers – but it has yet to make meaningful change. That’s why the company needs to hear from all of us: consumers must have accessible and easy options to protect their digital privacy.