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Snapchat vs WhatsApp

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Snapchat scores 59 and WhatsApp 49, so Snapchat is 10 points ahead.

59of 100
Snapchatcom.snapchat.android

version 14.26.1.0 ahead by 10

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 Snapchat +30
Snapchat 70 1 security problem found.
WhatsApp 40 2 security problems found.
Tracking WhatsApp +11
Snapchat 79 1 tracking tool found.
WhatsApp 90 No tracking tools found; that does not prove there are none.
Build hygiene level
Snapchat 71 The app passes 10 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
Snapchat 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 112 MB; 337 KB of it is unused files.
WhatsApp 100 The phone can use everything in the app.
Access Snapchat +11
Snapchat 12 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 Snapchat +16
Snapchat 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.

TrackersSnapchat 1 · 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 Snapchat
Firebase Analytics
In both
none
Only in WhatsApp
none

Dangerous permissionsSnapchat 9 · 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 Snapchat
ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION
In both
ACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_CONTACTSREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGEREAD_PHONE_NUMBERSREAD_PHONE_STATERECORD_AUDIOWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Only in WhatsApp
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONRECEIVE_SMSSEND_SMSWRITE_CONTACTS

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: Snapchat, WhatsApp.