These GPS applications collect much more data than necessary for navigation

After being interested in respecting privacy by web browsers, Surfshark is back with another study. This time, we are talking about the consumption of user data types by GPS applications.

To carry out his research, Surfshark retained the five most popular applications of the Apple App Store. She then analyzed how many data types These applications recover, out of 35 possible. The result is not totally surprising.

Google always the most gourmet

As Chrome is the most voracious of web browsers, Google Maps leads with 24 types of data recovered by the Mountain View firm. The application, preinstalled on Android terminals, recovers multiple elements not necessary for navigation, such as identity, contact details, SMS and emails, contacts, photos and videos or navigation history and payment information.

Not much better student, Waze, property of Google if it should be remembered, and application of the genre the best rated on the App Store, is it at 21 types of data on 35. Maps.me, however not belonging to a GAFAM, is at 20. You have to wait Sygic and Apple Maps to find better students, respectively at 12 and 11.

Sacrifice privacy for better performance?

The application natively installed on the iPhone by Apple is however the least well rated in the lot, at 2.4 out of 5. Performances for privacy, you must obviously choose. Especially since Apple Maps is the only application analyzed not to link the collected data (health, data data, research history, photos and videos, etc.) to the identity of the user.

Regarding Sygic, despite a fairly low number of data collected, the service that offers a subscription is the only one to share this information with third parties. Are concerned: email, location, user and terminal identifiers, interaction with the product and advertising data for tracking. Before taking the road, you are better informed.

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