Researchers from the French association Exodus have just published a report on the use of tracking practices by application
editors. They draw a peremptory conclusion: our smartphones are more and more invaded by malware and cookies. The study covered
Researchers from the French association Exodus have just published a report on the use of tracking practices by application
editors. They draw a peremptory conclusion: our smartphones are more and more invaded by malware and cookies. The study covered
a representative sample of 350 of the most downloaded Android apps on the Play Store. 44 different cookies have been
identified and some apps can go up to more than a dozen.
The search was directed only to Android apps. It is quite possible that iOS versions are also affected. Exodus explains that
the analysis on the Apple OS was not possible because they required a particular device that is currently inaccessible. The
malware identified in the applications is actually much more curious than dangerous.
These are essentially tracking codes that can be classified into three categories: audience measurement scripts (frequency of
use, pages viewed, etc.), retargeting scripts to offer more targeted advertising according to the profile. and the habits of
the user and a third category that concerns geolocation.
On average, an Android application has 2.5 cookies developed by audience measurement agencies or advertising. But some apps
ship more than others. Exodus claims, for example, that it has not identified any trackers in Dropbox. Le Monde and Groupon
then come with two cookies each in their apps (Xiti and HockeyApp for the first, DoubleClick and CrashLytics for the second).]]>
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