If there’s one thing that iPhone fans love to tease Android fans about, it’s the perceived lack of security on Android devices. But AppleInsider points us to a new study from mobile security vendor Appthority showing that free iOS apps may actually be less secure than free Android apps when it comes to leaking user data. Overall, the study found that a greater percentage of the top 50 free iOS apps sent and received data without encryption than the top 50 free Android apps. What’s more, the study also found that the top 50 free iOS apps were more likely to have access to users’ contacts and calendar information, were more likely to employ location tracking and were more likely to rely on ad networks to generate revenue than the top 50 free Android apps. The study does not address the impact of mobile malware, but as AppleInsider notes, “mobile malware affects only one percent of apps” and the potential security risks described in the study are far more common.

Prior to joining BGR as News Editor, Brad Reed spent five years covering the wireless industry for Network World. His first smartphone was a BlackBerry but he has since become a loyal Android user.