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Threads vs TikTok

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Threads scores 64 and TikTok 50, so Threads is 14 points ahead.

64of 100
Threadscom.instagram.barcelona

version 450.0.0.51.78 ahead by 14

50of 100
TikTokcom.zhiliaoapp.musically

version 47.4.3

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
Threads 70 1 security problem found.
TikTok 70 1 security problem found.
Tracking Threads +22
Threads 38 5 tracking tools found.
TikTok 16 7 tracking tools found.
Build hygiene Threads +17
Threads 86 The app passes 12 of 14 checks of how well it was built.
TikTok 69 The app passes 9 of 13 checks of how well it was built.
Packaging level
Threads 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 151 MB; 182 KB of it is unused files.
TikTok 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 176 MB; 223 KB of it is unused files.
Access Threads +6
Threads 26 Asks for 7 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.
TikTok 20 Asks for 7 of 11 kinds of permission; 2 kinds of special access.
Background Threads +40
Threads 64 Runs 2 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.

TrackersThreads 5 · 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 Threads
Facebook FlipperFacebook NotificationsGoogle Analytics
In both
Facebook SDKGoogle AdMob
Only in TikTok
AppsFlyerFacebook ShareFirebase AnalyticsIAB Open MeasurementPangle

Dangerous permissionsThreads 8 · 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 Threads
READ_PHONE_STATE
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: Threads, TikTok.