Facebook vs Instagram

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Instagram scores 49 and Facebook 41, so Instagram is 8 points ahead.

41of 100

Facebookcom.facebook.katana

version 582.0.0.50.54

49of 100

Instagramcom.instagram.android

version 451.0.0.53.80 ahead by 8

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: Instagram leads on 2 axes, Facebook on none; 4 axes are level.
Trackers: Facebook carries 8 trackers, Instagram 5 trackers; fewer is better.
Dangerous permissions: Facebook may ask for 11 permissions, Instagram for 9 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

Facebook 70 1 security problem found.

Instagram 70 1 security problem found.

Tracking Instagram +28

Facebook 10 8 tracking tools found.

Instagram 38 5 tracking tools found.

Build hygiene level

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

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

Packaging level

Facebook 100 The phone can use everything in the app.

Instagram 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 249 MB; 200 KB of it is unused files.

Access Instagram +11

Facebook 1 Asks for 9 of 11 kinds of permission; 2 kinds of special access. It is 9 points below the bottom of the scale, so the total loses 1.5 more.

Instagram 12 Asks for 8 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.

Background level

Facebook 4 Runs 7 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

Instagram 4 Runs 8 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

TrackersFacebook 8 · Instagram 5

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

Only in Facebook

Facebook AudienceFacebook PlacesFacebook ShareMeta Audience Network

In both

Facebook FlipperFacebook NotificationsGoogle AdMobGoogle Analytics

Only in Instagram

Facebook SDK

Dangerous permissionsFacebook 11 · Instagram 9

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 Facebook

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONREAD_CALENDARWRITE_CALENDARWRITE_CONTACTS

In both

ACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_CONTACTSREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGEREAD_PHONE_STATERECORD_AUDIOWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Only in Instagram

READ_CALL_LOGREAD_PHONE_NUMBERS

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: Facebook, Instagram.