(ECNS) -- A joint study by Internet giant Tencent and the Data Center of China Internet said over 25 percent of Android apps accessed various parts of a user's phone, going beyond their reasonable function.
An app routinely need access permission to do basic things, but many access requests by Android apps are actually non-essential to normal functions, the report said.
It tested 813 Android apps and 300 iOS apps to look at how permissions may expose users to safety concerns including privacy leaks and Internet fraud.
Research found as much as 96.6 percent of Android apps requested users to grant permission on private data collection. The ratio was only 69.3 percent for iOS apps.
iOS apps stood out for better protection in permission control since users can easily change what type of data they give to apps under privacy settings.
The report urged app users to be alert to permission requests in installment, turn off permissions important to privacy and only grant the authorization needed to complete necessary functions.
