You'll never guess which mobile browser is the worst for data collection
- Reference: 1746639485
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/05/07/mobile_browser_data_collection/
- Source link:
[1]Surfshark's research focused on the top ten browsers based on [2]AppMagic rankings. This included Safari due to it being the default browser on iPhones.
Between them, Chrome and Safari account for almost 90 percent of the mobile browser market, according to [3]Statcounter , while also being among the top for data collection.
[4]
At first glance, it doesn't look good for Chrome. According to Surfshark, the browser collects 20 different data types, including contact info, financial details, location, browsing history, search history, user content, identifiers, usage data, and diagnostics. Surfshark noted that it was the only app that collected financial details, although it also pointed out that users might choose to allow the browser to save the data for convenience.
[5]
[6]
It is also worth considering that much of the data captured by Chrome is by Google's services, such as Search and Maps.
Second place was the Bing app, which collects 12 data types, followed by Pi Browser (nine types), and Safari and Firefox (eight types each).
[7]Hey Google, if Chrome is going to be single soon, OpenAI is interested
[8]RIP, Google Privacy Sandbox
[9]Google wins 1-1: Judge rules ad giant broke some antitrust law
[10]Chrome to patch decades-old flaw that let sites peek at your history
The data types are important. For example, while Safari, Chrome, Opera, and Bing all collect the user's location, only Bing collects their precise location data. Bing, Opera, and Pi Browser also collect data for third-party advertising, whether for showing ads in the app or sharing the data.
Edge, Bing, and Pi Browser also collect data that could be used to track users. Such data could potentially be sold to data brokers or used for targeted advertisements.
[11]
The slurping habits of mobile browsers are not secret; Surfshark analyzed the privacy details of these apps on the Apple App Store.
However, the findings highlight the amount of data collected by mobile browsers and what a seemingly innocent sign-in to get access to other services might do. Surfshark noted that the most commonly used browsers tended to be the ones that collect the most data, while others with lower usage, such as Brave and Tor, collect the least.
"Brave collects a limited set of data types, specifically identifiers and usage data. Tor goes even further, standing out as the most privacy-centric browser by collecting no data at all," Surfshark said. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://surfshark.com/research/chart/data-collection-mobile-browsers
[2] https://appmagic.rocks/top-charts/apps
[3] https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/mobile/worldwide
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aBvX6RBEf4flnwbBBuhYggAAAs8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aBvX6RBEf4flnwbBBuhYggAAAs8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aBvX6RBEf4flnwbBBuhYggAAAs8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/23/openai_chrome_interest/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/22/google_privacy_sandbox/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/17/judge_rules_google_publisher_ad/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/07/chrome_135_history_sniffing/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aBvX6RBEf4flnwbBBuhYggAAAs8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
It's a shocker innit.
Shocked I am !!!
Shurely shome mishtake !!!
[Thanks Private Eye !!!]
:)
Mobile browsers slurping data?
Catch me, I have the vapors.
Brave wouldn't be in my toplist, [1]too Orange , maybe [2]Waterfox instead (not covered by Surfshark/AppMagic) ...
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/03/zorin_os_173/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/04/waterfox_firefox_fork/
I use Brave
And I'm happy to find out that it severely limits the data it slurps (because, these days, I fully expect there will be slurping).
I'm even happier that it cuts out ads, and that me a ton of bandwidth on my smartphone.
I never miss a chance to tell people around me about Brave if ever phone browsers come up in the conversation. I have converted a few people already.
Re: I use Brave
I used to use Brave when I was stuck on Android. It seemed OK.
These days it's Sapot, mostly.
-A.
Re: I use Brave
Might want to also warn them about how slow they are to merge upstream patches, 4 weeks for an actively exploited zero day in the chromium code
You would have to be a total fool to use these privacy browser's without looking into support, and who you are actually entrusting.
Legality
So Chrome collects contact data?
How would that fit with GDPR? So far as I know, none of my contacts consented to that.
-A.
Firefox
Browsers such as DuckDuckGo and Firefox fall into a moderate category in terms of data collection, avoiding the most sensitive data collection practices. They gather information in areas like contact information (name, email address), identifiers (user ID), usage data, and diagnostics, offering a balance between functionality and privacy. These browsers may suit users with moderate privacy concerns but still require robust browsing capabilities.
As far as I know Firefox doesn't collect names or email addresses. Also once you untick privacy preferences there aren't any identifiers, usage data, or diagnostics collected, all it does is seach for extension updates.
The biggest suprise
Safari, it's clear apple owners are still the product, despite paying top.dollar and falling for Apples lies
Well, I never… :-D