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Facebook vs TikTok

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. TikTok scores 50 and Facebook 41, so TikTok is 9 points ahead.

41of 100
Facebookcom.facebook.katana

version 582.0.0.50.54

50of 100
TikTokcom.zhiliaoapp.musically

version 47.4.3 ahead by 9

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.

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.
TikTok 70 1 security problem found.
Tracking TikTok +6
Facebook 10 8 tracking tools found.
TikTok 16 7 tracking tools found.
Build hygiene level
Facebook 69 The app passes 9 of 13 checks of how well it was built.
TikTok 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.
TikTok 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 176 MB; 223 KB of it is unused files.
Access TikTok +19
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.
TikTok 20 Asks for 7 of 11 kinds of permission; 2 kinds of special access.
Background TikTok +20
Facebook 4 Runs 7 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.
TikTok 24 Runs 6 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

TrackersFacebook 8 · TikTok 7

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 FlipperFacebook NotificationsFacebook PlacesGoogle AnalyticsMeta Audience Network
In both
Facebook ShareGoogle AdMob
Only in TikTok
AppsFlyerFacebook SDKFirebase AnalyticsIAB Open MeasurementPangle

Dangerous permissionsFacebook 11 · TikTok 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 Facebook
READ_CALENDARREAD_PHONE_STATEWRITE_CALENDARWRITE_CONTACTS
In both
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_CONTACTSREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGERECORD_AUDIOWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Only in TikTok
none

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, TikTok.