Comment by evgen

While it seems paradoxical it can go in both directions, where sometimes the app is the danger; the question is about the choices available. Here is an example for you. I know more about how Facebook operates and what its app does than most people. I have opted not to install the Facebook app on my iPhone and instead use m.facebook.com for the few occasions in which I need to interact with Facebook.

WebKit on the iPhone limits the APIs that a web site can access. An app has fewer limits, even on an iPhone. This means that with a VPN, a decent DNS server, and some content blockers on the iPhone I can limit what data Facebook has access to in ways that an app does not allow. This is only possible because I have the choice between the app (with fewer limits and protections) and a restrictive browser environment. If the browser provided all of the goofy APIs Google wants to shove down people's throats I would have a much more limited set of options.