Chrome vs Messenger

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Chrome scores 63 and Messenger 42, so Chrome is 21 points ahead.

63of 100

Chromecom.android.chrome

version 154.0.8037.126 ahead by 21

42of 100

Messengercom.facebook.orca

version 579.0.0.61.91

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: Chrome leads on 3 axes, Messenger on 1 axis; 2 axes are level.
Trackers: Chrome carries none, Messenger 6 trackers; fewer is better.
Dangerous permissions: Chrome may ask for 7 permissions, Messenger for 10 permissions.

The six axes

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

Security Messenger +30

Chrome 40 2 security problems found.

Messenger 70 1 security problem found.

Tracking Chrome +77

Chrome 100 No tracking tools found; that does not prove there are none.

Messenger 23 6 tracking tools found.

Build hygiene level

Chrome 62 The app passes 8 of 13 checks of how well it was built.

Messenger 62 The app passes 8 of 13 checks of how well it was built.

Packaging level

Chrome 100 The phone can use everything in the app.

Messenger 100 The phone can use everything in the app.

Access Chrome +39

Chrome 40 Asks for 6 of 11 kinds of permission; no special access.

Messenger 1 Asks for 8 of 11 kinds of permission; 2 kinds of special access. It is 1 point below the bottom of the scale, so the total loses 0.2 more.

Background Chrome +33

Chrome 34 Runs 5 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

Messenger 1 Runs 7 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart. It is 3 points below the bottom of the scale, so the total loses 0.5 more.

TrackersChrome 0 · Messenger 6

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

Only in Chrome

none

In both

none

Only in Messenger

Facebook AdsFacebook FlipperFacebook NotificationsFacebook ShareGoogle AdMobGoogle Analytics

Dangerous permissionsChrome 7 · Messenger 10

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 Chrome

none

In both

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_CONTACTSREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGERECORD_AUDIOWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Only in Messenger

READ_PHONE_NUMBERSREAD_PHONE_STATEWRITE_CONTACTS

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: Chrome, Messenger.