Coinbase: Buy Crypto & Stocks Security & Privacy Scorecard

Coinbase: Buy BTC, ETH, SOL

Security Score: 100/100 | Privacy Score: 75/100

What This Means for You

Activity and device data is shared with Facebook, AppsFlyer, Firebase, and several fraud-detection and payment partners. Identity verification involves third-party processors like Onfido and Persona, meaning user ID documents pass through external services. Financial behavior is monitored by multiple risk and analytics platforms as part of how the app operates.

Recommendation: Trustworthy

Best For: Active crypto traders comfortable with standard analytics

Key Findings

Data Security - 2 findings (1 medium, 1 low)

Network Security - 0 findings

Code Safety - 0 findings

Privacy - 4 findings (2 high, 2 medium)

Privacy Concerns

What Data is Collected

• Identity data - full name, government-issued ID, and biometric image are collected for identity verification
• Financial data - bank account details, transaction history, and trading activity
• Behavioral data - how users navigate the app, which features are used, and how often users return
• Device data - device type, operating system version, and unique device identifiers
• Diagnostic data - collected automatically when the app encounters performance issues

Third-Party Data Sharing

User data is shared with the following external services:

• Facebook - receives behavioral and usage data for advertising purposes
• AppsFlyer - tracks how users arrived at the app and monitors in-app actions for attribution
• Firebase (Google) - receives app usage and engagement analytics
• Onfido and Persona - process identity documents and biometric data for verification; these are independent companies with their own data retention policies
• Sardine, Riskified, and Payfone - receive behavioral and device signals to assess fraud risk
• Stripe, Braintree, and Plaid - handle payment processing and bank account connections
• Sprig - may collect in-app survey responses
• Samsung Pay SDK - present for Samsung device payment integration

Understanding the Scores

Positive Security Features

• All communications between the app and Coinbase servers are protected in transit
• The app code follows established safe development practices across the entire codebase
• Local data storage on the device uses standard protection methods
• The app's network communications meet the highest security standards for mobile applications

Areas for Improvement

• Advertising data sharing - activity data reaches Facebook and AppsFlyer, which use it for advertising targeting across other apps and services beyond Coinbase
• Identity document handling - government ID and biometric data flow through Onfido and Persona, independent companies whose data retention practices operate under their own policies, separate from Coinbase's
• Wide behavioral monitoring footprint - multiple fraud and analytics platforms simultaneously receive data about in-app actions, even during routine use

About This Analysis

This scorecard is based on static analysis of the application. Scores reflect the security and privacy posture of the version analyzed and may not reflect subsequent updates.

App Details