Facebook, Instagram, & Threads reported to be among the top invasive data collectors app list

Meta’s latest microblogging platform tops the list of invasive apps that collect and share 86 per cent of the user data with third parties, suggests a report by The Money Mongers. According to the study, not just Threads, but almost every major social media platform collects and shares user data, including Facebook, Instagram, X, and more. The study was conducted by considering the top 100 most downloaded apps on the Apple App Store.

The report also suggests that Threads, which is pitched as X alternative (previously known as Twitter), is said to collect 72 per cent more personal data than X. The top five invasive apps, which consist of Threads, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and LinkedIn, gather around 82 per cent of user data. Threads clocked over 100 million sign-ups within a week of its launch. However, the platform started losing active userbase from the next week.

Also read | Threads goes from hot to not, struggles to attract new users

List of most intrusive social media apps (Image credit: The Money Mongers)

Among these apps, 51 per cent of all these apps share user data with third parties, and 72 per cent of these apps collect data for their own benefit. Similarly, 7 out of 10 social media apps collect the most user data, and 64 per cent of these apps also collect contact information, which will be shared with third parties.

The report also sheds some light on how these apps collect data. An iPhone developer primarily collects data in two formats, which include third-party advertisements and marketing. Most of these developers tend to collect contact information. Among the other data collected by these apps include location details, user content, health and fitness-related information, and financial details.