PSA: These Apps Are Collecting (and Selling) a Ton of Your Personal Information

There’s a big problem in the digital world regarding private information. Some companies try to gather a bunch of information from their users without them even knowing about it. Someone once said, “if you’re not paying for it, you’re the product.” And, as you’d expect, this happens even in the apps we have on our iPhones.

Our information is valuable for companies. Whether they’re trying to sell you something they know you’ll love or just want to create a profile of their audience, your information is attractive and, therefore, something you should protect.

Even if the Apple ecosystem is highly secure, there’s no escaping from apps that collect your information to either give you a better experience within the app or to sell it to third-party companies. Needless to say, it’s can be a complete invasion of privacy. Here are the apps that collect the most data from their users.

Which Apps Are Collecting the Most Information?

Apple recently changed its privacy policies on the App Store and now shows privacy labels to make it easier for us to understand what type of data an app needs from you. The popular cloud service company pCloud took this information and used it to determine which apps gather the most information and share it with third-party companies.

The information pCloud found may be shocking and a little concerning. The first two apps on the list are Instagram and Facebook, which likely isn’t a surprise for anyone given the issues Facebook’s had handling private information in the last few years.

What’s surprising is the amount of data both apps collect. According to pCloud’s findings, Facebook collects 57% of personal data, while Instagram collects an incredible 79% of data from its users.

These apps collect data from your location, purchases, contacts, contact information, and even your financial information. But that’s not even the scariest part.

Out of the 79% of data, Instagram collects, 62% of it is shared with third parties and used for marketing purposes. Facebook uses 55% of your information for the same thing.

Twitter, another social media platform, collects 21% of your data, shares 40% of it with third parties, and uses it for marketing.

YouTube is another app on the list and according to the results, the YouTube app shares 42% of your information every time you search for a video on the app.

Other widely popular apps on the list are Uber Eats, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Duolingo. You can see the list goes on and on. This information was taken from the top 100 most popular apps on the App Store and you can see the first 50 apps that collect the most data in the infographic above.

What Are the Safest Apps You Can Use?

Fortunately for us, not every app is after our information. You can still use some apps without worrying about your personal information being shared with other companies.

pCloud shared which apps are the safest to use if you want to protect your personal information. Sure, they don’t offer the same service as Instagram or YouTube, but it’s nice to know not everyone’s after your data.

As you can see, popular messaging apps like Signal, Telegram, and Discord, are safer options to use. If you’re tired of using Facebook-owned apps like Whatsapp, you can always switch to Signal or Telegram and your information will be safe and sound.

Skype and Microsoft Teams also collect 0% of your data, which means they’re a safe option to use, albeit they aren’t the most popular apps right now.

Be careful with what you share on the apps you use and be sure to read the terms and conditions. Your information is valuable, so try to use some of the apps on the worst-offender list less frequently or maybe stop using them altogether.