Most Android apps quietly connect to tracking and ad servers without user knowledge.

Evidence

The researchers then took another valuable step. They characterized each of the URLs visited by these apps as either “ad-related” or “user-tracking related” and found that 66 percent of the apps contact an average of 40 ad-related URLs, although in some cases it’s more than 1,000. Of the five top domains represented by these URLs, three belong to Google. When it comes to tracking, the data suggest that the competition for behavioral surplus is even more contested. Among the apps in the study, 73 percent did not connect to tracking sites, but 16 percent connected to 100 or more tracking sites. Google remains the dominant force here, with 44 percent of the tracker-related domains, followed by 32 percent operated by AT Internet, a privately held “digital intelligence” firm that specializes in “behavior analysis.” Four of the ten most-intensive tracking apps in Google Play were also awarded Google’s “Top Developer Badge.” — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 2014

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘Top Developer Badge’ connection is a striking detail evidencing the institutionalization of surveillance into legitimate commerce. — connects to: Even innocent-looking mobile apps are routinely infested with tracking programs. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 430; A single app accessed profiles of tens of millions without consent — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 872; Google dominates the infrastructure behind hidden app connections to behavioral surplus markets. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 2013

Broader Connections

• Google dominates the infrastructure behind hidden app connections to behavioral surplus markets. #expands (0.85) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 2013
• A single app accessed profiles of tens of millions without consent #exemplifies (0.78) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 872