Alarming Stats: Apple, Google & Samsung Privacy Invasions

Our smartphones constantly monitor our activities and these privacy invasions are worsening with AI. Often without clear consent, they turned our everyday devices of “convenience” into surveillance tools. Big Tech companies like Google, Apple, and Samsung collect vast amounts of our personal data through their Operating Systems (OS).

This article outlines key findings from independent studies, transparency reports, and expert analyses, drawing from sources such as universities, privacy organisations, and tech media. The goal is to provide you with clear, factual info to help you understand these practices and make informed decisions.

Based on our research, here’s a look at how these Big Tech companies handle your data.

GOOGLE ANDROID: The “Surveillance Giant” Fuelling a Personal Data Empire

Android powers about 70% of smartphones worldwide as of mid-2025, making it the dominant mobile OS. However, this “free” system comes at the cost of personal information. Research shows Android devices send significant data to Google servers, even when idle or with privacy settings enabled.

• • Invasive Data Types Collected: Google gathers location (via GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell towers), search history, app usage, voice commands, device sensors (like accelerometers for behavior analysis), and even anonymised identifiers. This builds detailed user profiles for profits and can be vulnerable to breaches.

• • Data Volume and Frequency: A 2021 study by Trinity College Dublin found idle Android devices (like stock Pixels) send about 1MB of data to Google every 12 hours, including identifiers and telemetry (data collection/tracking). A 2025 follow-up study confirmed Google apps silently store cookies and identifiers on Android phones without consent, continuing pervasive tracking.

• • Persistent Tracking Despite Opt-Outs: Devices transmit data like IMEI (your unique phone id) and SIM details at startup. Opt-outs are limited; and audits show up to 75% of privacy toggles fail to block core telemetry through Google Play Services. In the EU, collection is tied to consent, but global users often face incomplete protections.

• • Ad Revenue Fuelled by Data: Google’s Q2 2025 ad revenue reached $71.3 billion, partially driven by personal user profiles from Android IDs, location history, and more.

• • Assistant and Background Activity: Google Assistant processes audio for personalisation, raising fingerprinting concerns. Idle (running in background) apps can send telemetry and preload ads, consuming data covertly.

SAMSUNG ONE UI: Layered Tracking from Google + Samsung

Samsung devices amplify Android’s issues with proprietary software like One UI, often ranking poorly in privacy audits due to bloatware and data-sharing.

• • Telemetry Intensity: Devices send hundreds of requests daily, including app lists and interactions – more than stock Android, per developer audits.

• • Knox Security Limitations: While promoted for protection, Knox (Samsung’s “security” solution) can log app data to servers, potentially bypassing user controls.

• • Health Data Sharing: Samsung Health shares biometrics (e.g., heart rate, sleep) with third parties for “research” without full transparency.

• • Voice Assistant Risks: Bixby (Samsung’s voice assistant) collects voice data for personalisation, past leaks show unintended recordings, even when in idle (per 2017-2023 reports).

• • App Profiling and Trackers: Samsung builds profiles from installed apps, sharing with advertisers. Exodus (Android app scanner) showed up to 40+ trackers (Google + Samsung) in apps, that persist after opt-out.

• • AppCloud Bloatware: If you bought a Samsung A-series or M-series phone after 2022, you probably got AppCloud whether you wanted it or not. It’s factory-installed software that Samsung claims helps “sync apps and settings,” but it can grab your location, device ID (unique phone fingerprint), and IP address (online location clue). Can’t delete it fully and privacy groups label it sneaky surveillance affecting millions.

• • Invasive Data Types Collected: Samsung has shown to scoop up health stats (steps, heart rate), voice clips, payment details, contacts, keyboard guesses (what you type), and sensor data (motion, light) – then shares it with Google and others. This builds detailed profiles and raises leak risks.

• • Yearly Data Toll: Gigabytes of locations, habits, and health data get sold off yearly without real consent – over 60% of users feel trapped and unable to stop it.

APPLE iOS: The “Walled Garden” Still Leaks Despite Opt-Outs

Apple emphasises privacy but faces criticism for ecosystem control and data practices. iOS holds about 25% market share.

• • Opt-Out Challenges: 2025 research from cybersecurity firm Lumia Security, exposed gaps in Apple Intelligence’s opt-out system. Even when users disable Siri “learning” from apps or block network access, the AI still transmits sensitive data like dictated messages to Apple servers for processing. Apple dismissed this as unrelated to its AI (blaming third-party SiriKit integrations), but experts warn it erodes trust. Opt-outs feel more like suggestions than safeguards, with data flowing beyond what’s promised in some privacy policies.

• • Startup Data Exposure: After booting, iPhones ping Apple servers with your device ID, rough location clues, and network details – often before you even unlock.

• • Siri Data Handling: Handles billions of voice queries yearly to “improve” the assistant. Apple says no ads, but recordings can be stored, reviewed by staff, and tied to your ID – sparking privacy concerns over leaks or misuse.

• • App Tracking Persistence: Since iOS 14.5 only ~35% opt in to app tracking; yet 70%+ of 1.3M apps still collect data despite prompts.

• • Telemetry Insights: Sends your location and IP address to servers often linkable back to you, even when “anonymised”.

• • Law Enforcement Compliance: Apple hands over user data in response to thousands of government requests with its 2025 transparency report showing global compliance rates up to 85% for valid legal demands, including device details, iCloud backups, and account info like names and addresses. This means photos, emails, and contacts can be shared worldwide if a warrant arrives, raising fears of overreach in surveillance-heavy regions.

• • CSAM and Photo Scanning: Apple paused its 2022 CSAM scanning after massive backlash over privacy risks, but the 2025 Enhanced Visual Search feature, rolled out quietly in iOS 18.1. It scans photos on-device for landmarks using “neural hashes” (digital fingerprints) and sends encrypted matches to Apple servers by default. Critics worry this “opt-out” setup could evolve into broader monitoring, like the old CSAM tool, since it touches every photo library without upfront consent.

• • Invasive Data Types Collected: From Siri voice clips and keyboard typing patterns to Face ID biometrics, contacts, payment details, and daily habits – Apple gathers a lot. But much is subpoena-accessible (e.g., stored Siri recordings or iCloud biometrics), and experts say it’s often re-identifiable linking back to you despite the privacy spin.

No Privacy Invasions: Your Path to Privacy

When you walk into a retail store, you see only Apple iPhone, Google Pixel, and Android phones – systems proven to collect data constantly, where “opt-out” is can be an illusion of control. An update can flip settings back on, erase your choices, or add new tracking defaults. True control demands a different foundation.

At PrivacyPros, we offer Australia’s #1 DeGoogled Privacy Phone choice – offering real privacy, security, and anonymity. Here’s just a snapshot of what each device offers (see FAQ “Why Switch to a PrivacyPros Phone?” for more details):

• • 99% less telemetry (data collection/tracking): Drops from hundreds of pings/day to ~1 for system updates.

• • Hardened security: Outperforms stock iOS/Android with verified boot and exploit resistance.

• • Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): endorsed for activists.

• • No identifiers leaked: Fully removes Google ties.

• • Hardware kill switches: Instantly disable mic, camera, sensors, and networks.

• • Pre-loaded privacy tools: Proton ecosystem of end-to-end-encrypted apps, and Brave Browser for ad-free browsing (see FAQ “Do you pre-install any Apps?”).

• • Isolation: Up to 32 isolated profiles and private spaces for compartmentalised, anonymous app usage like having multiple phones in one (see our FAQ “What Isolation Features Will I Have?”).

• • Expert-hardening: 4–7 hours configuration per device.

Start Smart: Audit your digital footprint/accounts, migrate data securely, and use VPNs – we recommend ProtonVPN. It’s a journey not a race. With our ‘Pro Bundle’ Privacy Phones we provide a helpful ‘Digital Resilience Roadmap’ as a self-assessment tool to spot and fix gaps with your devices.

We also have a huge library of Free Tools we recommend to strengthen your digital resilience. We know navigating “tech” can be feel daunting, so we’ve crafted them in an easy-to-understand way.

Privacy starts with informed, educated decisions.