Tapo vs Xiaomi Home

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Tapo scores 60 and Xiaomi Home 56, so Tapo is 4 points ahead.

60of 100

Tapocom.tplink.iot

version 3.21.114 ahead by 4

56of 100

Xiaomi Homecom.xiaomi.smarthome

version 11.8.704

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: Tapo leads on 3 axes, Xiaomi Home on 1 axis; 2 axes are level.
Trackers: Tapo carries 2 trackers, Xiaomi Home 7 trackers; fewer is better.
Dangerous permissions: Tapo may ask for 8 permissions, Xiaomi Home for 7 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

Tapo 70 1 security problem found.

Xiaomi Home 70 1 security problem found.

Tracking Tapo +41

Tapo 61 2 tracking tools found.

Xiaomi Home 20 7 tracking tools found.

Build hygiene Tapo +2

Tapo 64 The app passes 9 of 14 checks of how well it was built.

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

Packaging level

Tapo 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 289 MB; 132 KB of it is unused files.

Xiaomi Home 100 Unpacked, the base APK is 191 MB; 319 KB of it is unused files.

Access Tapo +2

Tapo 20 Asks for 7 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.

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

Background Xiaomi Home +24

Tapo 44 Runs 4 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

Xiaomi Home 68 Runs 2 kinds of background service.

TrackersTapo 2 · Xiaomi Home 7

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

Only in Tapo

none

In both

Firebase AnalyticsGoogle AdMob

Only in Xiaomi Home

Facebook SDKFacebook ShareHuawei Mobile Services (HMS) CorePangleTencent Stats

Dangerous permissionsTapo 8 · Xiaomi Home 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 Tapo

ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION

In both

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_EXTERNAL_STORAGEREAD_PHONE_STATERECORD_AUDIOWRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Only in Xiaomi Home

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: Tapo, Xiaomi Home.