Waze vs Bolt

Privacy compared: the newest public version of each, scored by the same six rules. Waze scores 68 and Bolt 57, so Waze is 11 points ahead.

68of 100

Wazecom.waze

version 5.25.0.1 ahead by 11

57of 100

Boltee.mtakso.client

version CA.228.0

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 3 axes, Bolt on 1 axis; 2 axes are level.
Trackers: Waze carries 2 trackers, Bolt 9 trackers; fewer is better.
Dangerous permissions: Waze may ask for 8 permissions, Bolt for 6 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

Waze 100 No security problem found.

Bolt 100 No security problem found.

Tracking Waze +50

Waze 61 2 tracking tools found.

Bolt 11 9 tracking tools found.

Build hygiene Waze +14

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

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

Packaging level

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

Bolt 99 Unpacked, the base APK is 141 MB; 935 KB of it is unused files.

Access Bolt +16

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

Bolt 34 Asks for 6 of 11 kinds of permission; 1 kind of special access.

Background Waze +20

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

Bolt 54 Runs 3 kinds of background service and starts by itself after a restart.

TrackersWaze 2 · Bolt 9

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

Only in Waze

none

In both

Firebase PerformanceGoogle AdMob

Only in Bolt

Facebook FlipperFacebook SDKFacebook ShareFirebase AnalyticsMixPanelSingularTune

Dangerous permissionsWaze 8 · Bolt 6

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 Waze

ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATIONREAD_CONTACTSREAD_PHONE_STATE

In both

ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATIONACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONCAMERAREAD_CALENDARRECORD_AUDIO

Only in Bolt

WRITE_CALENDAR

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: Waze, Bolt.