# Security & Privacy Scorecard

## com.google.ios.youtube

## What This Means for You

Viewing habits, interests, and device activity are collected and linked to a user's Google account to personalize ads. Multiple third-party services receive data about how the app is used. Data travels securely, but the scope of what is gathered is broad.

## Recommendation: Use With Caution

**Best For:** Watching videos without deep privacy concerns
**Avoid If:** You want to limit ad-tracking across platforms

## Key Findings

**Data Security** - 1 finding (1 medium)

**Network Security** - 3 findings (1 high, 1 medium, 1 info)

**Code Safety** - 0 findings

**Privacy** - 9 findings (1 critical, 1 high, 3 medium, 4 info)

## Privacy Concerns

### What Data is Collected

YouTube collects data tied directly to a user's Google account, including watch history, search terms, video interactions, inferred interests, and device identifiers. This information builds a detailed profile of user preferences used for ad personalization across Google's services.

### Third-Party Data Sharing

The following third-party services were observed receiving data through the app:

- **Firebase Core** - Google analytics and diagnostics
- **IGListKit** - UI rendering library
- **OpenCV** - Image and video processing
- **WebRTC** - Real-time media streaming
- **TensorFlow Lite** - On-device machine learning for recommendations
- **Lottie** - Animation rendering
- **Breakpad** - Crash diagnostics
- **Widevine CDM** - Protected content playback

## Understanding the Scores

| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Security | 84/100 |
| Privacy | 64/100 |
| Data Security | 98/100 |
| Network Security | 77/100 |
| Code Safety | 100/100 |
| Data Collection | 64/100 |
| Data Sharing | 92/100 |
| User Control | 72/100 |

## Positive Security Features

- No notable positive security features were identified for this version of the app.

## Areas for Improvement

- The scope of data collected about viewing habits and linked to a user's Google account is broad, with limited ability to use the app without contributing to an advertising profile that extends across Google's services.
- Some network connections handling user activity could be better secured against interception by third parties on shared or public networks.
- Controls for limiting what data is collected or how long it is retained are minimal within the app itself, leaving most privacy decisions outside the user's direct reach.

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## About This Analysis

### App Details

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| App | com.google.ios.youtube |
| Version | 21.12.4 (Build 21.12.4) |
| Scan Date | 2026-03-27 |
| Analysis Type | Static analysis |