Instagram’s messaging barely scrapes 30 per cent encryption coverage, has no end-to-end protection, is turned on by default, and happily hands over the full message content to authorities.

Meta scores a pitiful 15 out of 100. The app’s total privacy burden hits 95, putting it at the bottom of the list.

Cloud storage services Dropbox and OneDrive didn’t fare much better, each earning a score of 85. They offer just 30 per cent encryption coverage and barely improve on Meta’s dismal transparency showing. Both platforms collect at least six types of metadata and have a track record of letting data slip out.

Microsoft’s Outlook, the only email service on the list, came in with a matching score of 85. With no end-to-end encryption and full access granted to content under warrant, it vacuums up enterprise telemetry and subscriber logs for good measure.

Facebook Messenger scored 80. While it encrypts more messages than Instagram, it grabs more metadata and shares a similar fondness for sharing data with the feds. Telegram, despite its privacy marketing spin, came in at 75 with only 50 per cent of data encrypted and metadata held for up to a year.

WhatsApp landed a score of 65, better than its Meta cousins, thanks to end-to-end encryption on 95 per cent of messages. But transparency is limited and user metadata still flows straight to Meta’s grubby paws.

Apple’s iCloud came next with 60. While it blocked the UK’s latest demand for encryption backdoors, iCloud still stores plenty of metadata and leaves parts of your data unencrypted. iMessage performed slightly better with a score of 50, offering strong encryption but remaining tied to the same Apple infrastructure and limitations.

Rounding out the list is ExpressVPN, the only VPN in the study, which scored 25. Despite its decent encryption and minimal metadata collection, it hasn’t dodged past privacy breaches.

Webshare’s spokesperson said: “Apple's successful resistance to UK government demands for encryption backdoors sets an important precedent for how tech companies can push back against overreaching surveillance policies. This development may encourage other technology companies to adopt more assertive stances against weakening encryption standards.”

He added that many services “handle intimate personal data while offering minimal security safeguards,” and this imbalance needs urgent fixing if users are to regain control over their digital lives.

Here is the summary of the findings: