Crunchyroll: Anime Streaming Security & Privacy Scorecard

Crunchyroll: Anime Streaming

What This Means for You

Viewing habits, device details, and in-app behavior are shared with advertising and analytics companies including Google, Firebase, and Braze to target ads and measure engagement. Purchase activity and account data flow through Segment and Singular for marketing attribution. Ads are served directly within the app via Google AdMob and TrueX.

Recommendation: Acceptable

Best For: Anime fans comfortable with targeted advertising

Key Findings

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

Network Security - 2 findings (1 high, 1 medium)

Code Safety - 0 findings

Privacy - 7 findings (1 critical, 3 high, 2 medium, 1 info)

Privacy Concerns

What Data is Collected

Crunchyroll collects viewing history, device identifiers, advertising ID, in-app purchase records, and behavioral patterns. Account details, including email address and subscription status, are also stored and processed.

Third-Party Data Sharing

Data is shared with multiple third-party companies for advertising, analytics, and marketing purposes:

• Google (AdMob, Firebase, IMA) - receives device information and behavioral data to serve targeted ads, measure app usage, and support in-stream ad delivery
• Braze - receives engagement data to power personalized push notifications and in-app messaging
• Segment - collects activity data and routes it to other marketing and analytics platforms
• Singular - receives data linking user actions to advertising campaigns for marketing attribution
• Datadog - receives performance and diagnostic data to monitor app reliability
• Amazon (IVA) - receives video interaction data for streaming delivery

Understanding the Scores

Positive Security Features

• Content playback uses Widevine, an industry-standard protection system that prevents unauthorized copying of streams
• The app relies on OkHttp and Retrofit, well-maintained networking libraries with a strong security track record
• Firebase Crashlytics is integrated to detect and report app crashes, helping developers address stability issues quickly
• Google Tink, a modern security library backed by Google, handles sensitive data operations within the app

Areas for Improvement

• The breadth of behavioral and personal data shared with advertising partners is significant, and the app provides limited options for users who want to reduce that sharing.
• Network communication practices present conditions where data may travel with less protection than expected under certain network environments.
• Data handling in parts of the app creates a risk of unauthorized access to information stored on the device.

About This Analysis

This scorecard is generated from automated static analysis of the application. Scores and findings reflect the app's security and privacy posture as of the scan date.

App Details