It has been reported many times that Android users are less likely to pay for apps than iOS users are. What many users don't realize, however, is the fact that free apps might come with a price as well. You may save a dollar or two downloading a free app, but in many cases what you save in money is what you lose in privacy.
According to Juniper Networks, who analyzed 1.6 million apps in the Google Play Store between March 2011 and May 2013, free apps are much more likely than paid apps to access personal information such as user location, address books or general account info. In May 2013, almost a third of free apps required permission to access user location, while only 8 percent of paid apps did so.
However nice it may be to get all those great apps for free, it is important for consumers to be aware of the fact that they might give up a whole lot of personal information in exchange for the money they're apparently saving.
Free Apps Do Have a Price: Your User Data
Description
This chart compares free and paid apps in Google's Play Store regarding the extent to which they can access user data.
