Surfshark found that Meta's apps declared the most data types on averageThe seven hungriest apps in the study were all Meta-ownedThe figures come from developers' own App Store privacy labelsA new study from Surfshark has put a hard number on something privacy watchers have long suspected: among the biggest names in tech, Meta's apps are the hungriest for your personal data. Of the 12 Meta apps included in the study, an average of 25 out of the possible 35 data types were collected.That is more than three times as much as Microsoft and Apple gather on average, according to the research. The company's apps sit far ahead of the pack, and the gap is stark enough that Surfshark's team argues it reflects a purposeful choice rather than a technical necessity.No amount of privacy tooling, not even the best VPN, can claw back information you consent to hand over when signing into a service. This makes knowing which apps take the most a useful first step in guarding your privacy.Surfshark – the best cheap VPNSurfshark is a fast, easy-to-use VPN that seriously beats the competition when it comes to subscription pricing. Its two-year Starter plan works out at $2.49 a month (plus tax), but we think Surfshark One is the best value plan as it adds an antivirus, data breach monitor, alternative ID, and anti-scam tools. All of this starting from the equivalent of just $2.79 a month. View DealMeta leads the pack, but Google is everywhereSurfshark's researchers examined 171 apps in the Apple App Store, split across Google (44), Apple (41), Microsoft (40), Amazon (34), and Meta (12), and counted how many of the 35 data categories each developer self-reports collecting.Meta came out on top by a distance. Its apps collect 25 data types on average, ahead of Google (17), Amazon (12), Microsoft (8), and Apple (7). The gap widens at the extremes: the seven most data-hungry apps all belong to Meta, led by Meta AI on 33 data types, followed by Meta Horizon, Meta Business Suite, Meta Ads Manager, Messenger, Forum, and Facebook on 32 each. This echoes an earlier finding that Meta's Messenger collects 32 of a possible 35 data types, nearly double the messaging-app average.(Image credit: Surfshark)Google's story is about scale rather than intensity. It accounted for 29 of the 40 apps declaring the broadest data collection, though it was also overrepresented in the sample with 44 apps. Even where individual Google apps collect less than Meta's, their sheer spread paints a wide picture of your activity.At the other end, Microsoft and Apple were consistently the tamest, with Safari the only Apple app in the study to log browsing history.What it means for your privacyThe concern is not any single app, but what happens when the data is stitched together. Surfshark research lead Dr Luis Costa said the Big Tech business model is often built on an "insatiable appetite" for user information, weaving search history, purchases, and location into a detailed map of your life. Crucially, Meta ties this data directly to your identity, fuelling hyper-targeted ads.Costa argues that collecting triple the data for the same tasks proves that this level of tracking is deliberate, not required. Meta's tracking has drawn scrutiny before, from WhatsApp's metadata trail to Facebook's Link History feature. If you would rather not feed the machine, disabling precise location and your device advertising ID is a sensible place to start.How to stay safeAs Costa puts it, "awareness is the only effective defense when a familiar voice or face can no longer be trusted implicitly".For personal calls and messages, he suggests setting up a family "safe word" you can use with loved ones to confirm identity when a request feels urgent or out of character. On video calls, a "glitch test" can help too. Ask the other person to wave a hand in front of their face, as deepfakes often blur or distort when facial features are obscured. TechRadar has more advice on catching convincing AI images and deepfakes if you want to sharpen your eye.