Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

You know all that data your smartphone is sharing? It doesn't really serve a purpose to begin with

By

It’s already been established that your smartphone is probably sharing an alarming amount of personal information with various third party sites. So well established, that we seem to more or less brush it off, assuming that this data sharing is just a necessary evil. As it turns out, it’s not. According to new research from MIT, “much of the data transferred to and from the 500 most popular free applications for Google Android mobile phones makes little or no difference to the user’s experience.” That’s right; that data that’s being handed around willy nilly (often unbeknownst to you) often serves little to no purpose.

Noting that half of the data communicated between applications and third parties “cannot be attributed to analytics,” experts say that the main issue at hand is that users are kept largely in the dark about what their personal information is used for. “There might be a very good reason for this covert communication,” said Julia Rubin, a postdoc in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), who led the recent study. “We are not trying to say that it has to be eliminated. We’re just saying the user needs to be informed.”

Recommended Videos

In conducting their study, the MIT team examined 500 of the most popular apps on the Google Play store, and found that of the top 20, 62.7 percent of the data communication could be considered “covert” (or superfluous). And when these communications were completely shut down, there was “no major impact on the apps’ performance.”

Related

So why have these channels open in the first place? Omer Tripp, the technical lead on mobile security and privacy at IBM’s T. J. Watson Research Center, has some ideas of his own, namely that this data sharing is proactively guarding against potential network outages.

“You may imagine that the application may want to be more resilient and go on functioning without reporting a problem,” he said. “Which, when you think about it, is an interesting opportunity for optimization.” If the user has no Internet connectivity, which can occur when abroad, or is limited by data, anything that keeping important apps running smoothly is a good thing.

So don’t be too upset about all this covert communication. But you may want to start asking a few more questions about what’s going on behind the scenes.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
7 things you didn’t know your Pixel phone could do
Google Pixel 5

Google's Pixel phones have long been hailed as the best way to get a stripped-back, responsive Android experience. Google offers a few different Pixel phones at different price points, but they generally fall in the midrange to "premium midrange" price bracket -- and they're among the best phones in that price bracket.

But while Pixel devices offer a near-stock Android experience, they're not completely devoid of personality. Google has added a number of features to Pixel phones that make them easier to use and more versatile.

Read more
7 things you didn’t know your Motorola phone could do
Best Moto G Power (2021) cases

Motorola phones have long offered a stripped-back software experience that makes them easy to navigate, relatively responsive, and great for those who prefer to lean on Google apps and services than anyone else's. But that doesn't mean that they're completely devoid of extra features and tweaks that could come in handy.

In fact, Motorola has included a number of tricks that are worth learning, and they're not always out in the open. Interested in getting more from your Motorola phone? Here are seven things you didn't know your Motorola phone could do.
More easily customize your phone

Read more
8 things you didn’t know your OnePlus phone could do
oneplus 9 pro review camera hand

OnePlus has built a serious base of loyal followers over the years, and for good reason. Traditionally, its phones have offered an excellent software experience, with high-performing hardware, at a lower price than the competition. This year, the competition is fiercer than ever, but the OnePlus 9 series still manages to offer a solid experience overall.

But no matter how into OnePlus phones you are, it's unlikely you can learn everything about your device. The Android operating system is filled with features, and when you add OnePlus tweaks on top of that, you have pretty robust software.

Read more