Topic: App tracking and mobile privacy

App tracking and mobile privacy - statistics & facts

With the high usage of mobile devices and the considerable role apps have been taking as part of users’ experiences, recent years have seen the appearance of specific mobile-first security threats. In 2022, there were over five billion smartphone users worldwide, and mobile internet traffic accounted for approximately 60 percent of all web traffic worldwide as of the end of 2022.

Number of mobile cyberattacks in December 2023
***m

Main factor for trusting a company among U.S. users
“If the company was transparent about how they use my personal data”

Period tracking app collecting the largest amount of data from iOS users as of May 2022
Eve

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Current statistics on this topic

Cyber Crime & Security

Volume of detected mobile malware packages as of Q2 2025

Cyber Crime & Security

Share of potentially unwanted mobile applications 2022, by type

Digital Privacy

Share of smartphone users in selected regions having privacy concerns 2021

Mobile and app usage

Number of smartphone users worldwide 2010-2050
Number of smartphone users worldwide 2010-2050
Number of smartphone users worldwide from 2010 to 2050 (in millions)
Mobile ecosystem penetration rate of the global population worldwide 2024-2030
Mobile ecosystem penetration rate of the global population worldwide 2024-2030
Penetration rate of mobile subscribers, 4G and 5G connections, and internet users within the global mobile ecosystem in 2024 and 2030
Number of apps available in leading app stores 2024-2026
Number of apps available in leading app stores 2024-2026
Number of apps available in leading app stores from August 2024 to July 2026
Abandoned mobile apps count 2022
Abandoned mobile apps count 2022
Number of mobile apps that have not been updated recently from 1st quarter 2022 to 4th quarter 2022 (in millions)
Distribution of mobile iOS and Android apps based on most recent update date 2022
Distribution of mobile iOS and Android apps based on most recent update date 2022
Number of mobile apps that have not been updated recently as of first quarter 2022 (in 1,000s)

Mobile security threats

Monthly cyberattacks on global mobile users worldwide 2020-2025
Monthly cyberattacks on global mobile users worldwide 2020-2025
Number of mobile cyberattacks against users worldwide from January 2020 to December 2025
Distribution of mobile malware worldwide Q2 2023 - Q2 2025, by type
Distribution of mobile malware worldwide Q2 2023 - Q2 2025, by type
Distribution of mobile malware worldwide in 2nd quarter 2023 and 2nd quarter 2025, by type
Volume of detected mobile malware packages as of Q2 2025
Volume of detected mobile malware packages as of Q2 2025
Number of detected malicious installation packages on mobile devices worldwide from 4th quarter 2015 to 2nd quarter 2025
Share of potentially unwanted mobile applications 2022, by type
Share of potentially unwanted mobile applications 2022, by type
Distribution of potentially malicious mobile apps detected in 2022, by type
Countries with highest mobile malware encounter rate Q3 2022
Countries with highest mobile malware encounter rate Q3 2022
Percentage of mobile users who have fallen victim to mobile malware infections in 3rd quarter 2022, by country
App threat rate in selected markets 2022
App threat rate in selected markets 2022
Mobile app threat encounter rate worldwide as of May 2022, by country
Global mobile phishing rate Q4 2022-Q2 2023, by region
Global mobile phishing rate Q4 2022-Q2 2023, by region
Mobile phishing encounter rate worldwide from 4th quarter 2022 to 2nd quarter 2023, by region
Smishing attacks in global organizations 2021-2023
Smishing attacks in global organizations 2021-2023
Share of organizations worldwide targeted by smishing attacks from 2021 to 2023
Volume of vishing attacks on global organizations 2020-2023
Volume of vishing attacks on global organizations 2020-2023
Share of organizations worldwide targeted by vishing attacks in 2020 and 2023

App trackers and privacy

Users in selected markets feeling tracked online after talking about a topic 2023
Users in selected markets feeling tracked online after talking about a topic 2023
Share of internet users in selected countries feeling followed by their connected devices after talking about a topic or seeing an ad for a product as of March 2023
Mobile targeted ads awareness after talking about a topic in selected markets 2023
Mobile targeted ads awareness after talking about a topic in selected markets 2023
Share of internet users in selected countries noticing personalized advertising on their smartphones after talking about a topic or seeing an ad for a product as of March 2023
Trackers found in mobile apps 2022, by category
Trackers found in mobile apps 2022, by category
Number of potential trackers on mobile apps as of February 2022, by category
Trackers found in the most used social media apps 2022, by type
Trackers found in the most used social media apps 2022, by type
Number of potential trackers on leading social media apps as of February 2022, by type
Dating apps collecting the most user data on iOS 2022, by index value
Dating apps collecting the most user data on iOS 2022, by index value
Mobile dating apps with the highest number of data types collected from iOS users as of January 2022, by index value
Trackers found in the most used women health apps 2022, by OS
Trackers found in the most used women health apps 2022, by OS
Number of data trackers on period and women health apps as of June 2022, by operative system
User data collection in select mobile iOS period tracker apps 2022, by type
User data collection in select mobile iOS period tracker apps 2022, by type
Number of user data points collected from select iOS female health and period tracker apps worldwide as of May 2022, by type
Changes in privacy concerns on health apps for U.S. users 2021-2023, by generation
Changes in privacy concerns on health apps for U.S. users 2021-2023, by generation
Share of users in the United States reporting to have privacy concerns on mobile health apps in September 2021 and January 2023, by generation
Data collected from global educational apps 2022
Data collected from global educational apps 2022
Educational apps with the highest number of data points collected worldwide as of August 2022

Apple iOS ATT and IDFA

iOS apps that declared collecting global users private data 2026
iOS apps that declared collecting global users private data 2026
Share of mobile iOS apps that have reported collecting privacy data from users worldwide as of June 2026
Reasons to collect mobile app data from global iOS users 2025
Reasons to collect mobile app data from global iOS users 2025
Function of data collected by mobile app publishers via iOS apps from users worldwide as of January 2025
App tracking transparency: opt-in rate of iOS users worldwide 2022
App tracking transparency: opt-in rate of iOS users worldwide 2022
Monthly opt-in rate of mobile users worldwide allowing app tracking after iOS 14.5 update as of April 2022
Apple app tracking transparency implementation rate 2022, by app category
Apple app tracking transparency implementation rate 2022, by app category
Mobile Apple iOS apps that implemented App Tracking Transparency (ATT) as of March 2022, by app category
Apple app tracking transparency opt-in rate 2022, by app category
Apple app tracking transparency opt-in rate 2022, by app category
Apple iOS users who opted-in via the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt in March 2022, by app category

User behavior and opinions

Factors for consumers in the U.S. to gain trust in companies 2023
Factors for consumers in the U.S. to gain trust in companies 2023
Reasons for consumers in the United States to gain trust in companies as of January 2023
Leading mobile app privacy characteristics apps should have for global users 2022
Leading mobile app privacy characteristics apps should have for global users 2022
Most important online privacy protection features mobile app publishers should integrate in their products according to mobile users worldwide in 2022
Global users comfort level with apps accessing their data 2021-2022
Global users comfort level with apps accessing their data 2021-2022
Level of comfort with personal data sharing on mobile apps according to mobile users worldwide in 2021 and 2022
Global consumers perceived threats when using mobile apps 2022
Global consumers perceived threats when using mobile apps 2022
Most concerning cyber security issues on mobile apps according to users worldwide in 2022
Apps that should have the highest security for global consumers 2022, by category
Apps that should have the highest security for global consumers 2022, by category
Apps that should have the highest level of security worldwide according to mobile consumers worldwide in 2022, by category
Online privacy importance in the choice of mobile phone for U.S. consumers 2022
Online privacy importance in the choice of mobile phone for U.S. consumers 2022
Importance of online privacy for consumers in the United States as a factor considered when choosing a mobile phone as of February 2022
U.S. consumers opinions on online privacy 2022
U.S. consumers opinions on online privacy 2022
Opinion on online privacy and data tracking among U.S. consumers as of February 2022

Spotlight: children and mobile privacy

Countries of registration for mobile apps directed to children 2022
Countries of registration for mobile apps directed to children 2022
Number of mobile apps for children registered in selected countries worldwide in 1st quarter 2022
Children apps treatment of personal data 2022, by app store
Children apps treatment of personal data 2022, by app store
Handling of personal data among mobile apps for children in 1st quarter 2022, by app store
Number of tracked segments in iOS apps used by global children 2022, by category
Number of tracked segments in iOS apps used by global children 2022, by category
Number of data segments tracked on iOS mobile apps used by children worldwide as of January 2022, by category
Most tracked iOS apps used by children 2022, by number of data segments
Most tracked iOS apps used by children 2022, by number of data segments
iOS mobile apps used by children worldwide with the highest number of data segments tracked as of January 2022
Ad spend per application for children vs. non-children mobile apps 2022
Ad spend per application for children vs. non-children mobile apps 2022
Volume of advertising spending per application on child-directed and non-child directed apps worldwide in 1st quarter 2022 (indexed to all apps)

Number of mobile cyberattacks in December 2023
***m

Main factor for trusting a company among U.S. users
“If the company was transparent about how they use my personal data”

Period tracking app collecting the largest amount of data from iOS users as of May 2022
Eve

Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "App tracking and mobile privacy" and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

- Number of detected mobile malware packages in Q3 2023
- 142,762
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Detailed statistics
Volume of detected mobile malware packages as of Q2 2025
- Country with the highest mobile malware encounter rate in Q3 2022
- Iran
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Detailed statistics
Countries with highest mobile malware encounter rate Q3 2022
- Region with the highest mobile phishing encounter rate in Q2 2023
- North America
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Detailed statistics
Global mobile phishing rate Q4 2022-Q2 2023, by region
- Share of companies worldwide that encountered vishing attacks in 2022
- **%
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Detailed statistics
Volume of vishing attacks on global organizations 2020-2023

- Number of 3rd party app trackers on TikTok
- **
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Detailed statistics
Trackers found in the most used social media apps 2022, by type
- Dating app collecting the most user data as of January 2022
- Badoo
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Detailed statistics
Dating apps collecting the most user data on iOS 2022, by index value
- Share of global iOS users who allow app tracking as of April 2022
- **%
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Detailed statistics
App tracking transparency: opt-in rate of iOS users worldwide 2022
- Global ATT opt-in rate in March 2022
- **%
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Detailed statistics
Apple app tracking transparency opt-in rate 2022, by app category

- Children apps with unlisted country of registration
- *******
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Detailed statistics
Countries of registration for mobile apps directed to children 2022
- Share of children apps on Android potentially transmitting locations to advertisers
- 76%
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Detailed statistics
Children apps treatment of personal data 2022, by app store
- Number of tracked data segments in the children’s fintech app Greenlight
- 22
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Detailed statistics
Most tracked iOS apps used by children 2022, by number of data segments

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App tracking and mobile privacy - statistics & facts

Key insights