Popular Apps exposing user data at risk

Several popular apps are exposing billions of users to serious data privacy risks, with social media giants leading the list.

Among the social media giants that are exposing the data at risk are - Facebook ranks first, with 3.07 billion users and a troubling record of five confirmed breaches, affecting an estimated 1.4 billion accounts. 

It also demands 85 permissions from user devices and routinely shares data with third parties.

In second place is Weibo, which suffered a massive leak in 2020 that exposed 538 million accounts—nearly its entire user base. 

Weibo also requests an unusually high 107 permissions, the most of any platform analyzed.

X, ranks third, with two breaches impacting 200 million users. While it requests fewer permissions (around 50), its policy of sharing data with third parties heightens risk. 
Pinterest comes fourth, having suffered one breach that compromised 70 million accounts.  

Despite requesting only 29 permissions, it still shares data externally.

Telegram, known for privacy features, is fifth. It collects just 21 permissions and limits third-party sharing but has still seen two breaches affecting 57 million users.
Finally, ChatGPT ranks sixth. 

While it has not had a confirmed breach, a data leak earlier this year reportedly compromised 20 million accounts.

Experts warn: “The more data apps collect, the bigger the target they become for attackers.”