Quokka Publishes the Shopping App “Nice List”

Research Test Reveals the Shopping Apps that Pose the Least Security and Privacy Risks

News Highlights:

• Research tests were conducted across Android Boutique, Big Brand Clothing, Big Box Retail, Discount/Deal Giver and Digital Wallet/Payment mobile applications (apps)
• Of the apps tested, Etsy, Nordstrom, Toys “R” Us, Zulily and Wise are among the safest shopping apps
• The most common threat was apps asking for more permissions than they needed to perform their core functions

Quokka, Inc., a mobile security and privacy solutions company, today announced the publication of its 2022 Mobile Apps Nice List showcasing what it considers the most trustworthy Android mobile apps available to end-users this holiday season. Results of Quokka testing reveal Society6, Madewell, Lucky Supermarket, Brad’s Deals and Stripe Dashboard appear to be the safest shopping apps and pose the lowest threat to end-users privacy and digital safety.

According to Insider Intelligence¹, the forecast for mobile commerce for 2022 holiday sales will hit $116.98 billion, or 46.9% of overall e-commerce sales. Making a safe and secure mobile process a must-have for Holiday shoppers.

“Quokka strives to deliver trusted and secure solutions that give end users the power of peace of mind by helping expose security gaps before threats can cause damage,” said Chris Gogoel, Vice President of Program and Product Management. “In that spirit of goodwill, we wanted to focus on the positive and share with users which apps received our Quokka Secure seal of approval for exhibiting the fewest software weaknesses and least likely to impact your personal privacy.”

The 2022 Mobile Apps Nice List
With more people relying on mobile apps this holiday season to deliver their gifts, Quokka tested across five categories. The apps listed here had the lowest Android threat scores in their category, and are deemed Quokka Secure.

Boutique Apps:

1. Society6
2. Etsy
3. Sell on Folksy
4. Poshmark
5. Zazzle

Of the Boutique Mobile Apps scanned, the average threat score was 25 with the most common threat being apps asking for more permissions than they needed to perform their core functions.

Big Brand Clothing:

1. Madewell
2. Victoria’s Secret
3. PacSun
4. American Eagle/Aerie
5. Nordstrom

Of the Big Brand Clothing Apps scanned, the average threat score was 31 with the most common threat being the lack of a runtime app security protection (RASP) solution.

Digital Wallets & Payments:

1. Stripe Dashboard
2. Xoom Money Transfer
3. Remitly: Send Money & Transfer
4. Wise
5. Wallet Cards | Digital Wallet

Of the Digital Wallet Mobile Apps scanned, the average threat score was 56, with most threats being low or medium risk to end users. The most common privacy finding is that the apps share information about the user or app behavior with social networks.

Big Box Retailers:

1. Lucky Supermarket
2. Whole Foods Market
3. Rite Aid
4. Toys “R” Us
5. Bed Bath & Beyond

Of the Big Box Retailer Mobile Apps scanned, the average threat score was 32, with medium to low risk to end users. The most common privacy finding is tracking user behavior in their app with a third party tracking service.

Discount and Deal Giver Apps:

1. Brad’s Deals
2. Zulily
3. DealNews
4. Capital One Shopping
5. Rakuten

Of the Discount and Deal Giver Mobile Apps scanned, the average threat score was 34. The two most common privacy findings were tracking user behavior in the app with a third party tracking service and sharing user or app information with social networks.

How To Stay Safe This Holiday Season

• Mind Your Permissions: Some mobile apps ask you for permission to access your camera, calendar, location, and other data that may not be necessary to the task at hand. The more permissions you grant, the more potential points of weakness you create, so be mindful of which apps require which permissions – and grant them judiciously.
• Practice Good Hygiene: Be sure to change your application passwords regularly, or use an encryption service that automatically creates and stores strong passwords. Where possible, enable 2-Factor authentication (2FA) to create an extra layer of verification when people log into your account on a new or not recently-used device.

Methodology
Using Q-Vet, Quokka’s proprietary, industry-leading Mobile Application Security Technology (MAST) solution, Quokka was able to assign popular mobile applications a Threat Score factoring uncovered Security Risks and Privacy Risks. Q-Vet is used by organizations worldwide to proactively identify security and privacy vulnerabilities in mobile device applications without violating end user privacy in the process.

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