Mobile operating systems
Android privacy rating
Google's mobile operating system, shipped on Pixel phones with Google Mobile Services such as Google Play, Play services and Google apps on top of the open source Android base.
Summary
Android scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the mobile operating systems criteria. It partly meets open source and independent audit. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.
Score 25 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
-
Partial
Open source Weight 3 of 3
Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
The Android Open Source Project is mostly Apache-2.0, but Google Play services, Google apps and parts of the Pixel software are closed source.
-
No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
Google Play services and Google apps send usage and device data to Google, and some data is sent even with usage and diagnostics turned off; the website loads Google Tag Manager.
-
No
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Google is funded by advertising and uses an advertising ID and account data for ad targeting.
-
Partial
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
Android devices hold Common Criteria and FIPS 140 certifications from accredited labs, but no full audit report is published by Google.