Indian apps ask more information than needed

Indian apps explicitly ask for 45% more permissions than global apps, according to the study ‘State of Privacy of Indian Mobile Apps and Website – 2018’ conducted by Arrka Consulting, an enterprise cyber security and data privacy platforms company. The numbers are even more alarming when it comes to apps for children.
Almost 70% of the Indian apps for children access their location, phone details and storage and over half the permissions accessed by these apps aren’t even required for it to function. 71% of these apps were found to in-app ads, many of which were not child safe, and 43% of these enabled in-app purchases without any adult consent. In categories such as travel booking, shopping and mobile wallets, Indian apps take 1.6-1.8x more permissions.

Here are a few key findings: