Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it seems to me that many of these apps are blatantly lying in the ‘Data safety’ category on the Google Play Store. I would honestly expect Google to at least take action when these apps when they are caught lying. For example:
Table of Top 10 Apps on List with Third-Party Location Sharing Disclosure(s)
| App Name | Package | Ion | Third-Party Location Sharing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather & Radar | de.wetteronline.wetterapp | 360977 | Approximate location: Analytics, Advertising or marketing Precise location: Advertising or marketing |
| Block Blast! | com.block.juggle | 212608 | No data shared with third parties |
| Candy Crush Saga | com.king.candycrushsaga | 175503 | Approximate location: Advertising or marketing |
| Happy Color®: Coloring Book | com.pixel.art.coloring.color.number | 120648 | Approximate location: Analytics, Advertising or marketing, Fraud prevention, security, and compliance |
| Words of Wonders: Crossword | com.fugo.wow | 78771 | No location data shared with third parties |
| Vita Mahjong | com.vitastudio.mahjong | 68649 | No data shared with third parties |
| Number Match - Number Games | com.easybrain.number.puzzle.game | 68320 | Approximate location: Analytics, Advertising or marketing, Fraud prevention, security, and compliance |
| Mahjong Club - Solitaire Game | com.gamovation.mahjongclub | 51093 | Approximate location: Analytics, Advertising or marketing, Personalization |
| QBlock: Wood Block Puzzle Game | puzzle.blockpuzzle.cube.relax | 42668 | No data shared with third parties |
| Woodle Screw Jam: Nuts & Bolts | com.wood.bolt.wordle.screw.nuts.puzzle | 42367 | No location data shared with third parties |
Given that Gravy Analytics is a location tracking company, it seems to me that as many as 50% of the top ten apps on this list are potentially lying about the fact that they are sharing location data with third-parties.