A study by Incogni, a company that offers information removal services from data brokers, shows that six out of the ten most popular apps in the United States are owned by Chinese tech companies. These apps aggressively collect Americans’ personal data to offer personalized ads and create user profiles, and often share it with other companies.
Incogni researchers looked at the top 10 most popular applications in the US that aren’t developed by an American company and what data they collect.
The study includes TikTok, Alibaba, Temu, SHEIN, ABPV (America’s best pics and videos), CapCut, AliExpress, DramaBox, Telegram, and Talkie.
According to the findings, these apps have been downloaded approximately one billion times in the US since 2019. The apps owned by Chinese companies – TikTok, Temu, Alibaba, AliExpress, SHEIN, and Capcut – have a substantial market presence, with an estimated 775 million downloads.
The download metrics represent multiple installations per user, including instances of application reinstallation following device changes or prior uninstallation.
According to Incogni, the investigated apps collected an average of 15 data types and shared five with third parties. The Chinese-developed apps demonstrate what Incogni calls “expansive data-gobbling practices.”
These applications collect 18 distinct data types per user and share an average of six data categories with other companies.
"SHEIN adheres to strict data security and privacy practices in line with industry standards. We collect only the minimal information needed to process orders and ensure reliable service. As outlined in our US privacy policy, this limited data may be shared with trusted providers under binding safeguards. All U.S. customer data is securely stored on U.S.-based cloud infrastructure", said SHEIN's spokesperson to Cybernews.
The data collected and shared by these applications includes location, messages, photos, videos, audio files, documents, contact information, app activity, web-browsing activity, financial information, device information, and other personally identifiable information.
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According to the researchers, TikTok is the most data-hungry app, using 24 distinct data types from users and sharing six categories with third-party entities, including user names, residential addresses, and telephone numbers.
The Chinese-owned commerce app Alibaba ranks second, collecting 20 data categories and sharing six with external parties. The platform accesses user-generated content, including files, documents, videos, and photographs, as well as personally identifiable information such as telephone numbers, addresses, and names.
SHEIN is mentioned for its extensive third-party data distribution, sharing 12 of 17 collected data types to external entities, including names, telephone numbers, and photos.
Most data types are collected or shared for advertising and marketing purposes, such as offering personalized ads or creating customer profiles. However, data-based personalized advertising can lead to unwanted spending or even personalized pricing, where algorithms calculate an optimal price based on consumer behavior, researchers warn.
The findings are intended to address Americans' privacy concerns when downloading apps owned by foreign entities.
“As the digital economy continues to ‘go global,’ understanding and addressing these cross-border data flows will be essential for maintaining both individual privacy rights and national security interests in an increasingly interconnected world,” Incogni concludes.
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