How much of app and OS telemetry on Android devices is routed through Google services versus manufacturer services?
Executive summary
A series of academic and vendor analyses show Android phones routinely send telemetry both to Google and to device manufacturers, with Google services accounting for a large share of that traffic but OEM collectors also substantial and in some cases dominant depending on the handset and firmware; precise global percentages are not uniform across models or studies [1] [2]. Reported measurement snapshots found Google-related telemetry volumes far higher than comparable Apple telemetry—and manufacturer-specific telemetry can be especially heavy on vendor-skinned Android builds—yet Google and OEMs dispute how measurements were classified and what counts as “essential” data [1] [3] [4].
1. What researchers measured and why it matters
Academic work led by Trinity College Dublin instrumented phones and cataloged connections from the OS and preinstalled services, tracking identifiers and telemetry sent even when users had opted out or were not signed in; that work focused on default-state OS and core services rather than every third‑party app [5] [3]. The study found devices phoning home frequently—on average every few minutes when idle—and that both OS vendors and preinstalled apps initiated network connections without user action, which matters because device maintenance, security updates and analytics all ride on that traffic [1] [6].
2. Headline numbers: Google’s share relative to Apple and to OEMs
In side‑by‑side comparisons with iOS, researchers reported Android sending roughly 20× more telemetry to Google than iOS sends to Apple in the measured setups, a headline figure that provoked pushback from Google about methodology and classification of traffic [1] [7]. Separate analyses and community summaries suggest Google’s telemetry on typical Android handsets can outstrip the OS-maker’s own telemetry by an order of magnitude, with some summaries claiming Google traffic is ~10× OEM telemetry while certain OEMs (Xiaomi, Huawei, Realme in one write‑up) produced many times more telemetry than the underlying OS in other tests [8] [2].
3. Who collects what — types of telemetry and routing
Google collects device configuration and platform telemetry through services like the Android Device Configuration Service and Google Play Services—data used for updates, compatibility and health monitoring—while manufacturers collect analytics and device‑specific telemetry via OEM services and preinstalled system apps, often including persistent hardware identifiers and lists of installed apps [9] [10] [2]. Kaspersky’s tests found manufacturer firmware forwards telemetry and persistent identifiers to the OEM, and that Google apps and services also generated a large share of outbound telemetry on stock devices [11].
4. Why the balance varies by model, firmware and measurement choices
Measured proportions depend on which device, which firmware (stock OEM vs debranded builds like LineageOS or /e/), which preinstalled apps are present, and which network endpoints researchers classified as “Google,” “OEM,” or “essential” system traffic; vendor‑customized Android builds can be “even more chatty” than the stock images researchers used, changing the split substantially [4] [2] [8]. Google notes some channels are required for updating and security and says certain telemetry is “essential,” arguing that excluding those from counts misrepresents normal device operation [5] [3].
5. Disputes, limitations and what the data does not prove
Google and reporting outlets stressed methodological disputes: Google contends some telemetry the researcher counted as optional is actually required for OS operation and that certain iOS traffic may have been undercounted, meaning the 20× headline is sensitive to classification choices [3] [7]. The public analyses provide robust evidence that both Google and OEMs receive telemetry and that Google’s share is large on many devices, but they do not yield a single, universally valid percentage applicable to all Android phones worldwide because collection practices vary by OEM, region, and software build [1] [2].
6. Bottom line: an evidence‑based answer
Empirical snapshots show Google services route a major portion—often the largest single recipient—of OS and app telemetry on mainstream Android handsets, sometimes by an order of magnitude compared with Apple’s iOS telemetry benchmarks and often several times the telemetry sent to an OEM in measured devices; however, OEM telemetry is always present and can dominate on some vendor‑customized phones, and the exact split depends strongly on device model, preinstalled software and how researchers classify “essential” vs optional traffic [1] [8] [11] [4]. The literature supports the clear conclusion that there is no universal single number for “how much” without specifying device and measurement methodology, and both Google and OEMs have defended their practices as operationally necessary [3] [9].