Smartphone bloatware: An overlooked privacy problem

Abstract

Smartphone bloatware or pre-installed applications are included in smartphones by the Original Equipment Manufacturers and the telecom carriers partly to remain ahead of competitors and partly to subsidize the costs of smartphones through app developers. Such applications are also known to be used for maintaining device control and for collecting user data. There are a number of other privacy and security costs associated with these freely available apps. However, costs and benefits of these apps for the smartphone users have not been assessed. In this paper, we provide findings of a user-study that was conducted to investigate the practical utility of bloatware in personal and professional lives of users. We surveyed a representative sample of 53 smartphone users for this purpose. We try to learn their dependence on such applications, identify frequently used and computationally wanted applications, and assess relevant user expectations. We also review the privacy and security implications of such apps and discuss whether these are such valuable assets that users should surrender control of their personal data and privacy, in exchange. We introduce the concepts of ‘dormant profiles’, and ‘on-demand and flexible’ apps to reduce the privacy problems introduced by these apps, and to put users in control of their data and privacy.