Messenger vs Snapchat

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Snapchat scores 59 and Messenger 42, so Snapchat is 17 points ahead.

42of 100

Messengercom.facebook.orca

version 579.0.0.61.91

59of 100

Snapchatcom.snapchat.android

version 14.27.0.53 ahead by 17

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: Snapchat leads on 4 axes, Messenger on none; 2 axes are level.
Trackers: Messenger carries 6 trackers, Snapchat 1 tracker; fewer is better.
Dangerous permissions: Messenger may ask for 10 permissions, Snapchat 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

Messenger 70 1 security problem found.

Snapchat 70 1 security problem found.

Tracking Snapchat +56

Messenger 23 6 tracking tools found.

Snapchat 79 1 tracking tool found.

Build hygiene Snapchat +9

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

Snapchat 71 The app passes 10 of 14 checks of how well it was built.

Packaging level

Messenger 100 The phone can use everything in the app.

Snapchat 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 113 MB; 337 KB of it is unused files.

Access Snapchat +11

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.

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

Background Snapchat +23

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.

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

TrackersMessenger 6 · Snapchat 1

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

Only in Messenger

Facebook AdsFacebook FlipperFacebook NotificationsFacebook ShareGoogle AdMobGoogle Analytics

In both

none

Only in Snapchat

Firebase Analytics

Dangerous permissionsMessenger 10 · Snapchat 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 Messenger

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONWRITE_CONTACTS

In both

ACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_CONTACTSREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGEREAD_PHONE_NUMBERSREAD_PHONE_STATERECORD_AUDIOWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Only in Snapchat

ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION

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: Messenger, Snapchat.