Each operating system with an Internet connection collects a series of usage data that is used by the companies that own the operating systems for different purposes, primarily intended for improve the services they offer. A study of Colleague of the Trinity accessed by Ars Technica, claims that Android far exceeds the amount of data it collects.
According to this study signed by Douglas Leith, Android collects 20 times more user data than iOS. This information should come as no surprise to us given the data vacuum that Google is, however, Google and Apple claim the research is wrong.
The measurements carried out by Douglas show us that:
- Al turn on a device run by Android sends Google about 1MB of data, while iOS sends Apple about 42KB.
- When the device is at rest, Android sends about 1MB of data to Google every 12 hours, while iOS sends Apple about 52KB during the same period.
Appliances used
To conduct this study, Leith used a iPhone 8 jailbroken and managed by iOS 13.6.1, therefore, the data is based on an older version of iOS that most users no longer use.
Regarding Android, Leith used a Pixel 2 managed by Android 10, a device that hardly anyone uses with this version since its update to Android 11 in September 2020.
Google rates the investigation as flawed stating that the comparison with iOS is misplaced by an order of magnitude.
We spotted flaws in the researcher’s methodology for measuring data volume, and we disagree with the article’s claims that an Android device shares 20 times more data than an iPhone. Based on our research, these conclusions are shifted by an order of magnitude, and we share our methodological concerns with the researcher prior to publication.
Apple, for its part, spoke with Arts Technica stating that it “ensures the transparency and control of the information it collects” and that the survey is “wrong”. If you would like to take a look at this study, you can do so from this link.
