Cook: Android malware is 47 times more than iOS

One of the biggest advantages of Android over iOS is that it gives users a higher level of control, such as the ability to side-load apps, which means we can download apps from outside the Google Play Store or other native app stores.

However, Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, recently spoke out against the practice of side-installing apps to the iPhone in an interview with Brut America, a foreign media outlet. Cook explained that side-installing apps would undermine the security of the iPhone and many privacy initiatives built into the App Store.

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Is it true that Android has 47 times more malware than iOS?

Cook believes that Apple's App Store has privacy labels and transparent app tracking features, which prevent a program from forcibly obtaining cross-app tracking permissions. Once side-installation of apps is allowed, these (privacy) will no longer exist, so he is very worried about privacy and security.

Cook also mentioned that Android has 47 times more malware than iOS. Although it did not point out the source of this claim, professionals did find in a 2019 Nokia report that Android accounted for 47% of detected malware infections, while iPhone accounted for less than 1%.

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However, what’s interesting is that according to the 2020 report, the infection rate of malicious programs detected on Android phones has dropped to 26.6%. On the contrary, the infection rate of iPhones, which had previously performed well, has risen to 1.7%.

So if Cook really quoted Nokia's report, he was being cunning, after all, the quoted figures are not the latest and most accurate. I believe that as time goes by, the gap between the two will narrow further.

Does Cook's risk theory hold water?

I believe that when you use an Android phone, you will find that you can easily download and install an apk format application from any web page, or someone can directly send you an installation file through WeChat, and you can also install it directly. For Apple phones, without exception, you download and install through the App Store.

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To be honest, Android's side installation has brought users a faster and more convenient experience to a great extent. But at the same time, we must also admit that allowing the installation of unknown applications does have potential risks. But how big is this risk, and will it really affect the safety of mobile phone use?

In fact, in order to install an App sideways, users still need to obtain explicit authorization from system applications such as browsers to install unknown applications from unknown channels, and the system will usually warn users that the apk file may cause damage.

Moreover, with the improvement of the system, even if an unknown application is installed, the Android system still has a layer of protection behind it, that is, users can decide for themselves how much permissions to give to the application.

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The App Store is the best in privacy protection, but there are still risks

This year, iOS has done a better job in privacy protection. Starting from iOS 14.5, Apple has modified the permissions for tracking IDFA (advertising identifier) ​​and placed it directly in the foreground for users to decide.

Therefore, careful iPhone users should be able to find that every time you install an app, you may see the following interface, asking you whether to allow the app's request to track. I believe that even a novice who knows only half of it will subconsciously choose to ask the app not to track.

On the surface, you will no longer see precise personalized ads in this app, but in fact, we have banned this app from tracking your usage on other apps or web pages across apps. This way, you will not search for "phone case" on a browser, then open NetEase Cloud Music and find ads and information about phone cases pushed to you.

On the contrary, in the past, our experience was like this: after browsing a certain product on e-commerce platform A, you would see an ad for the same product when you opened news client B. This is because apps A and B read the iPhone's IDFA, so when you mentioned milk powder to your friends on WeChat, and then switched to the e-commerce app, you saw products related to milk powder, as if the phone was "monitoring" you.

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This directly triggered an "earthquake" in the digital advertising industry, and one of the companies affected was Facebook, whose advertising business accounted for 96.8% of its total revenue. Facebook itself conducted a small test on the iOS 14 beta version. After turning off the tracking of IDFA, its advertising revenue dropped by 50%.

But is the App Store perfect? ​​Not really. According to a previous report by The Washington Post, nearly 2% of the top 1,000 apps in the App Store are scams. Recently, the App Store has also attracted much attention because 2,500 malwares infected the iPhones of more than 128 million download users.

The author has something to say

In my opinion, whether it is Android or iOS, neither of them will cause substantial trouble in application installation, it is more of a habit. Cook's criticism of Android this time is essentially to protect the iOS camp from being accused of being unusable, and to advertise the privacy policy. Don't take it too seriously. I wonder how everyone views the application security of the two systems, or is the ability to freely install apps from other places a need for you?