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Updated March 23rd, 2021 at 18:46 IST

Instagram and Facebook said to be the 'Most Invasive Apps', according to report by pCloud

Instagram and Facebook are in hot waters again as news comes out that Insta and FB are the two most privacy-invasive apps around the world, as per a report.

Reported by: Sakshat Kolhatkar
Source: Unsplash
| Image:self
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Instagram is trending in the news again as a new report by the cloud computing firm pCloud discovered that the app shares about 79 per cent of user data and sells/shares it with third parties. This news comes after a recent outcry on Facebook and Instagram's invasive privacy policies and new changes to WhatsApp privacy policies. Read on to know why pCloud termed Instagram as the most invasive app alongside Facebook. 

Instagram Termed as 'Most Invasive App'

Instagram has come out on top, as the application responsible for violating user privacy the most out all the applications in the world. Cloud storage company pCloud made the discovery after analysing data for the Apple Privacy Labels that companies are now required to include withing Apple's App Store. As reported by the Independent, the study found that Instagram collects and shares about 79 per cent of all user data including search history, location, contacts and financial info.

“Any information you agree to be gathered by an app when signing up can be analysed for their benefit and even shared. Everything from your browsing history, to your location, your banking details, your contact details, and your fitness levels can be valuable for apps to store, use, or sell on,” Ivan Dimitrov, a manager at pCloud wrote on their official company's blog, “With over 1 billion monthly active users it’s worrying that Instagram is a hub for sharing such a high amount of its unknowing users’ data.”

The second worst application that pCloud found about sharing data to third parties, is Instagram's parent company Facebook. Facebook gives away nearly 57 per cent of all user data to third party companies and advertisers including data from apps that Facebook owns. The company also gives away data to other tech companies associated with Facebook, pCloud found. While everyone was aware of the fact that Facebook shared user data with advertisers, finding out that almost all of your personal data is shared with companies can be a shocking blow.

What this basically means is your browsing history, search history, contacts, images can be shared by Facebook and Instagram to third parties. The company also found that the most secure applications are apps like Signal, Netflix, Clubhouse, Skype, Teams and Google Classroom. These applications collect almost no user data, which makes them the safest apps on the list. 

(Image Source: Unsplash)

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Published March 23rd, 2021 at 18:46 IST

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