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Gmail vs WhatsApp

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Gmail scores 56 and WhatsApp 49, so Gmail is 7 points ahead.

56of 100
Gmailcom.google.android.gm

version 2026.10.05.998732664.Release ahead by 7

49of 100
WhatsAppcom.whatsapp

version 2.26.39.79

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
Gmail 40 2 security problems found.
WhatsApp 40 2 security problems found.
Tracking level
Gmail 90 No tracking tools found; that does not prove there are none.
WhatsApp 90 No tracking tools found; that does not prove there are none.
Build hygiene WhatsApp +7
Gmail 64 The app passes 9 of 14 checks of how well it was built.
WhatsApp 71 The app passes 10 of 14 checks of how well it was built.
Packaging level
Gmail 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 93 MB; 348 KB of it is unused files.
WhatsApp 100 The phone can use everything in the app.
Access Gmail +17
Gmail 18 Asks for 8 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.
WhatsApp 1 Asks for 9 of 11 kinds of permission; 2 kinds of special access. It is 15 points below the bottom of the scale, so the total loses 2.5 more.
Background Gmail +16
Gmail 24 Runs 6 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.
WhatsApp 8 Runs 7 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

TrackersGmail 0 · WhatsApp 0

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

Only in Gmail
none
In both
none
Only in WhatsApp
none

Dangerous permissionsGmail 8 · WhatsApp 12

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 Gmail
READ_CALENDARWRITE_CALENDAR
In both
CAMERAREAD_CONTACTSREAD_PHONE_STATERECORD_AUDIOWRITE_CONTACTSWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Only in WhatsApp
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGEREAD_PHONE_NUMBERSRECEIVE_SMSSEND_SMS

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: Gmail, WhatsApp.