Revealed: Top 10 most privacy-invasive educational apps on Android

According to the Atlas VPN research, 92% of educational apps on Android collect user data. However, 70% of apps go a step further and share user data with third parties.

While it is no secret that app manufacturers collect insights and information about their users, it is a much bigger issue among educational apps since they are highly used by children.

The report shows that:

• 92% of educational apps on Android collect user data.
• The most data-hungry apps are language learning app HelloTalk and learning platform Google Classroom, each collecting user information across 24 segments within 11 data types.
• 90% of apps collect  personal information, which includes such data segments as name, email, phone number, address, user ID, and similar.
• Over a third (36%) of apps also collect location data, followed by audio (30%), and messages (22%).
• 70% of educational applications on Android were found to disclose user information to third parties.

To see the full report, please click here.

Methodology:

For this report, the Atlas VPN team analyzed the Google Play app profiles of 50 popular Android apps within the education category. The apps were ranked based on how many user information segments they collect.

A segment is a data point such as name, phone number, payment method, and precise location that are grouped in broader data types such as personal information, financial information, and location.

The apps for analysis were picked from various top Android application charts for 2022, including Sensor Tower and Similar Web. The analysed apps encompass a mix of ed-tech apps, virtual classroom apps, study help, language and musical instrument learning apps, educational games, online course apps, and book reader apps.