New study shows privacy risks of pre-installed Android apps
An international study of pre-installed Android apps highlight the privacy and security risks posed by pre-installed Android apps. According to TechCrunch, the study unearths ‘a complex ecosystem of players with a primary focus on advertising and “data-driven services” — which they argue the average Android user is unlikely to be unaware of’. In El Pais, the authors of the study indicate that they created the app Firmware Scanner to pick up pre-installed software on mobile phones of volunteers, to see how personal data can be sent to a broad network of interested parties.
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