Alibaba.com vs SHEIN

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Alibaba.com scores 70 and SHEIN 62, so Alibaba.com is 8 points ahead.

70of 100

Alibaba.comcom.alibaba.intl.android.apps.poseidon

version 26.34.0 ahead by 8

62of 100

SHEINcom.zzkko

version 15.4.6

Who is ahead on what

The longer bar is the better one on every axis; a score is the mean of its six axes. The arithmetic behind each is on the app's own card.

Axes: Alibaba.com leads on 3 axes, SHEIN on 1 axis; 2 axes are level.
Trackers: Alibaba.com carries 4 trackers, SHEIN 6 trackers; fewer is better.
Dangerous permissions: Alibaba.com may ask for 6 permissions, SHEIN for 7 permissions.

The six axes

Each axis is one short rule applied to both apps, with the one thing that decided its number underneath.

Security Alibaba.com +30

Alibaba.com 100 No security problem found.

SHEIN 70 1 security problem found.

Tracking Alibaba.com +21

Alibaba.com 44 4 tracking tools found.

SHEIN 23 6 tracking tools found.

Build hygiene level

Alibaba.com 69 The app passes 9 of 13 checks of how well it was built.

SHEIN 69 The app passes 9 of 13 checks of how well it was built.

Packaging level

Alibaba.com 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 61 MB; 114 KB of it is unused files.

SHEIN 100 The phone can use everything in the app.

Access SHEIN +8

Alibaba.com 28 Asks for 6 of 11 kinds of permission; 2 kinds of special access.

SHEIN 36 Asks for 5 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.

Background Alibaba.com +4

Alibaba.com 78 Runs no background service, but starts by itself after a restart.

SHEIN 74 Runs 1 kind of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

TrackersAlibaba.com 4 · SHEIN 6

The advertising, analytics and attribution SDKs recognised in each app. What only one of them carries is what sets it apart.

Only in Alibaba.com

none

In both

Facebook SDKFacebook ShareFirebase AnalyticsGoogle AdMob

Only in SHEIN

AppsFlyerHuawei Ads

Dangerous permissionsAlibaba.com 6 · SHEIN 7

The permissions Android asks the user about at run time: the camera, the microphone, the location, the contacts and the like. An app may need one for what it does; asking is not the same as using.

Only in Alibaba.com

RECORD_AUDIO

In both

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGEWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Only in SHEIN

READ_CALENDARWRITE_CALENDAR

Where this comes from

Both are the apps' public cards: what anyone may know of an app, from its newest public version - one Google Play installed, and out in the world. Each card has the score's lines and the earlier versions: Alibaba.com, SHEIN.