WTF?! Study finds Android is actually safer than iOS

By Killian Bell

Are iPhones really more secure than Androids? Google’s platform certainly gets more stick thanks to high-profile vulnerabilities like Stagefright, but according to a new study, Android is still safer and more secure than iOS.

Despite Apple’s “wall garden,” which required all iOS apps to undergo a thorough review process before they get the stamp of approval, you’re more likely to download a dangerous app from the App Store than you are from Google Play.

That’s according to a new study carried out by Checkmarx and AppSec Labs, which combed through hundreds of the most popular apps on both platforms to examine the risks they pose.

While 36 percent of Android apps were found to have “potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities for system stability and data protection,” that figure rose to 40 percent on iOS, crushing the common misconception that iOS is a safer platform overall.

The difference is only small, of course, but the fact that it falls in Android’s favor still proves that Google’s platform isn’t the complete security shambles some believe it to be — unless you carelessly download apps from untrusted third-party sources.

No matter which platform you choose, though, it seems you won’t be completely safe. Checkmarx says that while most of the threats it found were low level, 38 percent of them posed a significant risk to users and had the potential to do significant damage.

Checkmarx’s Amit Ashbel explained to GeekTime that most of the security flaws are the result of vulnerabilities in developers’ code. “The mobile application industry as a whole is lagging behind on secure coding best practices,” he added.

Maybe it’s time to step down off that high horse, iPhone users.