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Instagram is ‘Most Invasive App’, New Study Shows
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Instagram is ‘most invasive app’, new study shows [independent.co.uk]:
Instagram is ‘most invasive app’, new study shows
Facebook-owned app collects 79 per cent of personal data
Anthony Cuthbertson [independent.co.uk]@ADCuthbertson [twitter.com]Thursday 18 March 2021 12:47Leer en Español [independentespanol.com]
Instagram [independent.co.uk] has topped a list of “invasive” apps that collect and share users’ data.
Cloud storage firm pCloud made the discovery after analysing the recently introduced App Privacy labels that companies are now required to include within Apple’s App Store.
The study found that Instagram collects 79 per cent of its users’ personal data and shares it with third parties, including search history, location, contacts and financial info.
“Any information you agree to be gathered by an app when signing up can be analysed for their benefit and even shared. Everything from your browsing history, to your location, your banking details, your contact details, and your fitness levels can be valuable for apps to store, use, or sell on,” Ivan Dimitrov, a digital manager at pCloud, wrote in a blog post [pcloud.com] detailing the research.
“With over 1 billion monthly active users it’s worrying that Instagram is a hub for sharing such a high amount of its unknowing users’ data.”
The second worst offender for sharing the personal data of its users was Instagram’s parent company, Facebook [independent.co.uk]. The social network gave away 57 per cent of its users’ data to third parties, which can include companies that are associated with the company.
