All social media platforms utilise our personal data to promote products. The apps and websites we’re using collect vast amounts of data about us, and, in many cases, this data is even passed on to third parties. This, of course, shouldn’t happen without permission, which is why we usually have to agree to a long list of terms and conditions before using an app. (And honestly, when is the last time you’ve read these before clicking yes?). According to pCloud, Instagram is the app that passes on most of our data to third parties.

Last year, Apple made it a bit easier for consumers to understand what kind of data apps collect and how that data is being used. The company introduced privacy labels to apps in its App Store, categorizing personal data into 14 categories ranging from user location to purchases, search and browsing history, and contact information.

Secure cloud provider pCloud has used this data to analyze a number of popular apps with respect to their collecting and sharing of user data. As the following chart shows, Instagram is most likely to share your personal information with third parties for advertising purposes. The popular app shares data from 11 out of 14 categories with third parties, putting it ahead of Facebook, which interestingly shares fewer data with external advertisers.

source statista

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