Meta, Yandex Covertly Tracked Billions of Android Users, According to Researcher

A report highlights how Meta and Yandex bypassed privacy and security controls to implement web-to-app tracking on Android users.

Billions of Android users may have been unknowingly tracked by Meta and Russian tech giant Yandex via a novel method that monitors fixed local ports on their devices, according to a new academic report.

The technique, uncovered by cybersecurity researcher Günes Acar of Radboud University, allegedly allowed popular apps like Facebook and Instagram to silently listen for hidden tracking data. The situation raises concerns about user privacy and Android’s security architecture.

“This web-to-app ID sharing method bypasses typical privacy protections such as clearing cookies, Incognito Mode and Android’s permission controls,” Acar wrote in a blog post. “Worse, it opens the door for potentially malicious apps eavesdropping on users’ web activity.”

Meta cookie sharing

The first accusation involves Meta and its use of the Meta Pixel, a piece of JavaScript ...