Almost half of popular Android apps ask for camera access, says survey

The data also points out that 15 percent of Android apps and 10 percent in iOS ask for access to messages.

A Symantec survey shows that most popular applications require the user to access information considered risky, often unnecessary for the program to work. The company has researched the top 100 free apps on Google Play and the App Store and found that 45 percent of the most popular apps on Android and 25 percent on iOS require location tracking and that similar number also requires access to the device's camera.

The data also points out that 15 percent of Android apps and 10 percent in iOS ask for access to messages.

"An example is an Android flashlight application that has more than 10 million downloads and requests access to calls, messages, camera, and so on. of users. Do you really want the developer to have access to this personal information to use a flashlight? Probably not, "the study said.

Research conducted with each platform's 100 apps on May 3 this year examines the amount of personally identifiable information, known as the PII, required by each program.

According to Symantec, the most requested information was emails, required by 48 percent of iOS apps and 44 percent for Android analyzed.

Second is the user's name (33 percent on iOS, 30 percent on Android), followed by phone number (12 percent on iOS, 9 percent on Android) and physical address (4 percent on iOS, 5 percent on Android).