which one really (not) protects your privacy?

Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Twitter are some of the biggest tech companies, but they each collect user data in a different way. We consult two studies to clarify which of these tech giants really keep your data private.

Big tech companies and privacy

You regularly see articles about a new lawsuit that Google, Amazon or Meta has ended up in. Some companies are so successful that they are more wealthy than a country’s gross domestic product (GDP). In many cases, they abuse their strong leadership position to suppress smaller competitors and often end up in lawsuits about abuse of power. But in many cases privacy also plays a role.

One of the best-known and largest privacy scandals in modern history is that of Cambridge Analytica in 2018. That data analysis company illegally accessed the personal data of 87 million citizens worldwide via Facebook.

Cambridge Analytica then took advantage of a simple quiz on Facebook, but it made off with the sensitive data of quizzers and their friends. In this way, tens of thousands of Dutch and Belgians who were friends with Americans became involved. It earned Meta a record $5 billion fine a year later. Cambridge Analytica was working for the Trump campaign when it first ran for president. This large database allowed the campaign to target targeted advertising.

Research big tech companies

This example mainly illustrates the power that big tech companies have over our personal data, but also the major consequences of mismanagement around privacy. We discuss the current state of affairs with big tech and privacy. We look at recent studies from Security.org and StockApps, which this year analyzed what data is collected by tech companies and whether they share that data with third parties.

StockApps’ research examines the different categories in which companies collect information, based on the number of ‘data points’. With this, the company mainly investigates how broad the data collection works at Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple and Twitter.

Security.org then counts the number of collected data within these fixed categories:

• Personal data: from your name to your home address, photos and videos
• Device Details: from your device type to the operating system and your IP address
• Activity data: includes your messages, watched videos, info about calls and search history
• Location data: GPS data, sensor data from your device and location info shared by cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots
• Public dates: data available about you from an external public source. Information from advertisers, articles from media sites and your credit history.

Results

In the table below, we list the number of types of information StockApps examined, along with the amount of data collected within the categories that Security.org uses. Security.org gives each of the companies a letter rating.

Conclusion

The StockApps and Security.org studies come to a similar conclusion. Google collects most of the data from users and shares it with advertisers to serve targeted advertising. In addition to its Android operating system, Google also offers a lot of services and so you get a complete picture of your personal data, location, interests and activities.

Apple gets the best rating because the company collects the least data and is also the only one that does not share information with third parties. In addition, it also does not use public sources to learn more about you. Apple does collect the location of users, but that is for functional purposes, as many services of computers and phones require the location to work.

Amazon received a better rating from Security.org than the major social networks because it gives users more control over what happens to their data. Your name and address will never be shared with third parties and you can disable sharing for the other data, a so-called opt-out system.

What do you think about the data these big players in the tech industry are collecting? Do you think more consciously about the products and services they offer and how you use them? Let us know in the comments.

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