Chrome vs Gmail

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Chrome scores 63 and Gmail 56, so Chrome is 7 points ahead.

63of 100

Chromecom.android.chrome

version 154.0.8037.126 ahead by 7

56of 100

Gmailcom.google.android.gm

version 2026.10.05.998732664.Release

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, Gmail on 1 axis; 2 axes are level.
Trackers: Chrome carries none, Gmail none.
Dangerous permissions: Chrome may ask for 7 permissions, Gmail for 8 permissions.

The six axes

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

Security level

Chrome 40 2 security problems found.

Gmail 40 2 security problems found.

Tracking Chrome +10

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

Gmail 90 No tracking tools found; that does not prove there are none.

Build hygiene Gmail +2

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

Gmail 64 The app passes 9 of 14 checks of how well it was built.

Packaging level

Chrome 100 The phone can use everything in the app.

Gmail 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 93 MB; 348 KB of it is unused files.

Access Chrome +22

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

Gmail 18 Asks for 8 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.

Background Chrome +10

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

Gmail 24 Runs 6 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

TrackersChrome 0 · Gmail 0

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 Gmail

none

Dangerous permissionsChrome 7 · Gmail 8

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

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

In both

CAMERAREAD_CONTACTSRECORD_AUDIOWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Only in Gmail

READ_CALENDARREAD_PHONE_STATEWRITE_CALENDARWRITE_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, Gmail.