The Guardian - US & World News Security & Privacy Scorecard
Android
Reading habits, device details, and behavior are shared with over ten ad, analytics, and audience measurement companies including Nielsen and comScore. Users have limited ability to opt out of this tracking. Ads are targeted based on content interests across sessions.
Best for
News readers comfortable with broad ad tracking
Avoid if
You want control over what data is shared
Findings
- 3 critical
- 7 high
- 11 medium
- 3 low
- 0 info
0 issues identified across security and privacy analysis.
Top security issues
- Hardcoded Braze Marketing API Key
- Hardcoded Crossword Puzzle API Key
- Unencrypted User Personalization Data
Top privacy issues
- Ophan Analytics Cannot Be Disabled (GDPR Violation)
- Permutive SDK Bypasses Consent System
- Extensive Third-Party Tracking (11 SDKs)
Full analysis
The Guardian - US & World News
Version: 6.174.121373
Platform: Android
Analyzed: 2026-01-21
What This Means for You
Reading habits, device details, and behavior are shared with over ten ad, analytics, and audience measurement companies including Nielsen and comScore. Users have limited ability to opt out of this tracking. Ads are targeted based on content interests across sessions.
Recommendation: Use With Caution
Best For: News readers comfortable with broad ad tracking
Avoid If: You want control over what data is shared
Key Findings
Data Security - 10 findings (1 critical, 3 high, 3 medium, 3 low)
Network Security - 1 finding (1 medium)
Code Safety - 0 findings
Privacy - 5 findings (2 critical, 1 high, 2 medium)
Privacy Concerns
What Data is Collected
The app collects reading history, article preferences, device identifiers, and behavioral patterns across sessions. Usage data and device details are gathered to build a profile of user interests and serve targeted advertising.
Third-Party Data Sharing
Data is shared with the following third-party services:
- Adjust (attribution and campaign tracking)
- Amazon APS (advertising)
- Braze (user engagement and messaging)
- comScore (audience measurement)
- Confiant (ad quality)
- Firebase Analytics (behavioral analytics)
- Firebase Crashlytics (error reporting)
- Nielsen (audience measurement)
- Ophan (internal analytics)
- Permutive (audience data and targeting)
- Teads (advertising)
Understanding the Scores
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Security | 58/100 |
| Privacy | 42/100 |
| Data Security | 55/100 |
| Network Security | 85/100 |
| Code Safety | 72/100 |
| Data Collection | 35/100 |
| Data Sharing | 40/100 |
| User Control | 25/100 |
Positive Security Features
No positive security practices were identified for this version.
Areas for Improvement
- Data is shared with eleven third-party services focused on advertising and behavioral profiling, with very limited options to opt out.
- Data collection scope is broad, covering reading habits and device details used to build audience profiles across sessions.
- User control over data sharing is minimal, making it difficult to restrict how data is used by advertising and measurement partners.
About This Analysis
This scorecard is based on automated static analysis of the published Android app binary. Scores reflect findings at the time of analysis and may change with app updates.
App Details
- App Name: The Guardian - US & World News
- Package ID: com.guardian
- Version: 6.174.121373
- Scan Date: 2026-01-21
- Platform: Android
Versions & scan history
| Scan | Date | Overall score |
|---|---|---|
| #2 (current) | 50/100 |