Which Apps Collect the Most Personal Data?

PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Learn more. Tired of your favorite apps grabbing your personal data and selling it to third parties? Take a look at these privacy-focused alternatives. A study by pCloud concluded that social media and food delivery apps sell the most personal data to third-party advertisers. But a recent survey showed that four out of five people don’t want their personal data collected or shared without their permission. If you’re sick of invasive data collection, what are the best alternatives? Surfshark compared the data collection activities of 200 apps to find out which services harvest the most data in a given category, and which apps actually leave your data alone. The study compared 18 app categories and found that the more popular an app, the more data it likely collects. Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger—all owned by the same company—collect all 32 segments of personal data that Apple’s App Store flags. Less-invasive options include the audio-first Clubhouse social media app. Cisco Webex Meetings and disappearing messages app Dust are great alternatives for business and personal use, because neither service collects any…
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