Ernestas Naprys tried an experiment with a brand-new Android phone. He installed the top 100 free apps from the Google Play Store, gave them permission to do what they asked, and left the phone alone for a day. Naprys used a special internet service to see where the phone sent information.
The apps were chosen in Lithuania, Europe. The experiment showed the phone sent a lot of information to different places without being used. The phone sent data 6296 times in three days. Some of this data went to servers in Russia 39 times and China 15 times. This was surprising because the phone didn't have any apps from those countries that you might expect to send data there.
The phone sent a lot of information to Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. Almost half of all data went to them. TikTok sent even more data than those three, which was unexpected.
Even when the person wasn't using the phone, it still used a lot of data. In one day, it used 553MB, but only 20MB were sent out from the phone. Apps like TikTok and Temu used a lot of data too.
The phone eventually started closing some apps on its own because they were slowing it down. Despite this, TikTok still managed to use a lot of data in the background.
The researcher from Cybernews says it's normal for apps to talk to servers, but it can be a privacy risk. Especially if the data goes to countries where the government might look at it without permission. Some apps ask for too much access to your phone, and once they have it, they can connect to any server they want.
The experiment shows that your phone can send data all around the world, even when you're not using it. This could be a privacy concern, especially for certain people like journalists or activists.
Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen
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The apps were chosen in Lithuania, Europe. The experiment showed the phone sent a lot of information to different places without being used. The phone sent data 6296 times in three days. Some of this data went to servers in Russia 39 times and China 15 times. This was surprising because the phone didn't have any apps from those countries that you might expect to send data there.
The phone sent a lot of information to Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. Almost half of all data went to them. TikTok sent even more data than those three, which was unexpected.
Even when the person wasn't using the phone, it still used a lot of data. In one day, it used 553MB, but only 20MB were sent out from the phone. Apps like TikTok and Temu used a lot of data too.
The phone eventually started closing some apps on its own because they were slowing it down. Despite this, TikTok still managed to use a lot of data in the background.
The researcher from Cybernews says it's normal for apps to talk to servers, but it can be a privacy risk. Especially if the data goes to countries where the government might look at it without permission. Some apps ask for too much access to your phone, and once they have it, they can connect to any server they want.
The experiment shows that your phone can send data all around the world, even when you're not using it. This could be a privacy concern, especially for certain people like journalists or activists.
Read next: Financial Stressors Differ by Generation, Study Highlights Concerns Over Inflation and Retirement
