Mobile phones both those running iOS and Android continually send data to the servers of their parent companies, although it appears that Google’s system sends up to 20 times more data than Apple’s, according to a study.
Researcher Douglas Leith, from Trinity College, in Ireland, has analyzed the data that Android and iOs send to Google and Apple, respectively, the data type and the frequency, from a Pixel 2 phone with Android 10 and an iPhone 8 with iOS 13.6.1.
Leith points out that even when the mobile has barely been configured, for example, just out of its packaging, or is unused, both systems share information, on average, every 4.5 minutes.
In this first phase, the shared data corresponds to the phone’s data such as the IMEI number, the device’s serial number, the serial number and the IMSI – it allows its identification in GSM and UMTS networks – of the SIM card and the phone number. telephone. Subsequently, it is expanded to telemetry, location, ‘cookies’, IP address and Mac address.
The study ensures that “Google collects 20 times more data from the device than Apple.” In the United States alone, in 2020, Apple collects about 5.8GB of data every twelve hours, while Google collects about 1.3TB with the same frequency.
When the mobile is not in use, iOS devices connect to Apple’s server, on average, every 264 seconds, while Android does the same every 255 seconds. Just by inserting a SIM card, a connection is created that results in data sharing with the corresponding server.
It is also pointed out that there are a series of pre-installed applications in which network connections have also been detected, such as Siri, Safari or iCloud on iOS, and YouTube, Chrome and Search Engine, on Android.
In statements to Ars Technica, both Google and Apple have questioned the methods used by the researcher, and have pointed out that the communications that are shared between the mobile terminal and the servers, along with data such as telemetry, help to maintain the security of the devices. two operating systems, as they make sure the software is up-to-date, working and protected.
