iOS users more likely than Android users to protect data

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iOS is more secure than Android in general as a reflection of the underlying cultures. Apple takes a “walled garden”, Apple-knows-best approach that limits the control users have over their devices in favor of both a consistent experience and security, while Android is an open source platform with a very open ecosystem.

In theory, Android can be just as secure as iOS. The difference is that iOS is secure by default while Android users have to choose to configure and implement the security features. But, what happens when both iOS and Android users are presented with the same features, and the same opportunity to choose privacy and data protection or not? Apparently, even when given free will to choose, iOS users are more secure than Android users.

I wrote a blog post about new data shared by cloud storage provider iDrive:

You wouldn’t think privacy and security were platform-specific, but data released by cloud storage service iDrive today seems to say that iPhone and Android users differ in this way as well as many others.

iDrive took a look at the volume of photos and videos backed up on each platform, and how many users elected to use private key encryption for better data protection. While Android has far greater market share than iOS as a mobile platform, iDrive used a total of 20,000 users from each platform to keep the comparison on an even playing field.

iOS users backed up more, encrypted more

The data showed that iOS users are more concerned with data privacy, and more likely to back up and protect data than their Android-using peers. Here are the numbers: iOS users backed up 33 percent more photos, and nearly 20 percent more videos than Android users. iOS users were also more than 25 percent more likely than Android users to protect data in the cloud using private key encryption.

To be clear, we’re not talking about anything inherent in iOS or Android itself, so the disparity in the results can’t be blamed on the mobile platform. The iDrive data is a measure of the choices that users made when presented with the same opportunity to back up or encrypt data.

Are the iDrive findings just a random coincidence, or is it a reflection of the broader culture behind each platform?

You can read the full story at PCWorld: Report: iOS users care more about privacy and data security than Android users.

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