Indian apps may be a lot kinkier when it comes to seeking permissions from a user to allow him to use its services.
A report released by a survey agency reveals the ugly truth of the smartphone app developers. We have already witnessed too many cases of apps stealing user’s private data or remember the time when even Google was caught saving Android user’s locations, even when turned-off manually.
As per the report, on an average, Indian apps seek 7.9 dangerous permissions from its users.
Android classifies some permissions as ‘dangerous’ when the data it permits access to is very sensitive or private. Data collected after granting such permissions can be used to track user’s location, to build your profile and know minute details about your life.
Out of the 100 apps that Arrka analyzed, 90% had over a million downloads across categories like Music, Finance, Entertainment,Education,News and many more. These were the sample space:
The different apps from following categories scored the corresponding scores, higher score means high breach of privacy.
Communication apps being the worst in India, with a score of about 14.5 while apps from categories- finance, mobile wallets seeking critical permissions.
Out of the various permissions that an app seeks, following permissions were found dominant, and nearly present in every app.
“Although the type of top Dangerous Permissions accessed remain the same across India and the US, the % of apps accessing these permissions varies greatly. 3.5X Indian Apps access dangerous permissions as compared to US apps. This clearly indicates the degree to which Excessive Permission are taken by Indian Apps,” the research stated.
Out of the 100 apps that were accessed, the apps were asking for permissions to modify/share info such as call logs, contact sharing, social media details, location services and others.
“This clearly indicates the degree to which excessive permissions are taken by Indian apps,” the report said.
(With inputs from Arrka and Pew Research)