Android и ненасытный аппетит к данным: как ИИ-файрвол защищает устройство, контролируя и ограничивая расход трафика для безопасности и экономии.

The digital age has revolutionized our relationship with data. While data transmission brings many benefits, the practices of some technology companies raise serious questions about privacy and data protection. A 2018 study conducted by Vanderbilt University (link) sounded the alarm: it reported that Android smartphones make an average of 40.2 user data requests per day, whereas Apple’s iOS makes only 4.2 requests per day. These figures indicate a significant difference in data collection practices.
 

Main findings of the study include:
- Google can determine many personal user interests in one day on the internet.
- Android facilitates Google’s data collection by gathering both personal and device-specific information.
- Chrome collects data from both mobile and desktop devices and sends it to Google.
- Android and Chrome send data to Google even without user interaction.
- Even without using Google services, the company can collect data through its advertising and publishing products.
- On iOS devices, connections to Google servers remain high even if Google products are not used.
- Advertising identifiers and DoubleClick cookie IDs, which are supposedly anonymous, can be linked to Google identity.
 

The Vanderbilt University report showed that 35% of the data Google collects from Android smartphones is location data. Another 24% relates to device downloads, and 18% is connected to the Google Play Store. In comparison, Apple’s location data accounts for only 1%, while device downloads dominate at 46%. Alarmingly, the study also showed that Google can “with startling accuracy” determine a new user’s interests within one day. Most of this data collection happens passively, without active user interaction with the Google app.

A notable observation from the study was that an unused Android phone with Chrome running in the background sent Google location information 340 times in 24 hours.
Even iPhone users are not fully protected from Google’s data collection. The study showed that Google continues to receive data even if Google Chrome is not used. Notably, 75% of this data concerned online advertising. Apple collects slightly less data from its iPhones daily than Google.
 

Another 2021 study conducted by Douglas J. Leith (link) examined data traffic between mobile devices and their operating system developers:

Key findings and points of this study:

• Data traffic: both iOS and Google Android send data to Apple or Google on average every 4.5 minutes, even when the device is in standby mode.
• Common data: common data includes IMEI, hardware serial number, SIM card serial number, IMSI, and phone number. Telemetry data is sent even when the user opts out. iOS also sends Apple MAC addresses of nearby devices and their GPS coordinates.
• Data volume: Google collects significantly more data than Apple. For example, a Pixel device sends about 1 MB of data to Google in the first 10 minutes after startup, while an iPhone sends about 42 KB to Apple.
• Concerns: the volume of data collected is concerning, as this data can easily be linked with other data sources after user login. This can lead to disclosure of additional personal information, other user devices, purchase history, etc. Moreover, the high frequency of network connections potentially allows tracking location over time.