Sygic vs Waze

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Waze scores 68 and Sygic 65, so Waze is 3 points ahead.

65of 100

Sygiccom.sygic.aura

version 26.5.5-119142

68of 100

Wazecom.waze

version 5.25.0.1 ahead by 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.

Axes: Waze leads on 2 axes, Sygic on 1 axis; 3 axes are level.
Trackers: Sygic carries 5 trackers, Waze 2 trackers; fewer is better.
Dangerous permissions: Sygic may ask for 7 permissions, Waze for 8 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

Sygic 100 No security problem found.

Waze 100 No security problem found.

Tracking Waze +21

Sygic 40 5 tracking tools found.

Waze 61 2 tracking tools found.

Build hygiene Waze +14

Sygic 43 The app passes 6 of 14 checks of how well it was built.

Waze 57 The app passes 8 of 14 checks of how well it was built.

Packaging level

Sygic 99 Unpacked, the base APK is 143 MB; 1023 KB of it is unused files.

Waze 99 Unpacked, the base APK is 99 MB; 636 KB of it is unused files.

Access Sygic +14

Sygic 32 Asks for 7 of 11 kinds of permission; no special access.

Waze 18 Asks for 8 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.

Background level

Sygic 74 Runs 1 kind of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

Waze 74 Runs 1 kind of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

TrackersSygic 5 · Waze 2

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

Only in Sygic

ExponeaFacebook SDKFirebase Analytics

In both

Firebase PerformanceGoogle AdMob

Only in Waze

none

Dangerous permissionsSygic 7 · Waze 8

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 Sygic

READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGEWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

In both

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_CONTACTSRECORD_AUDIO

Only in Waze

ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATIONREAD_CALENDARREAD_PHONE_STATE

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: Sygic, Waze.