Carbon footprint of unwanted data-use by smartphones. An analysis for the EU

To determine the carbon footprint of unwanted data-use we have combined the information on the amount of network data used by ATS with the electricity consumption of the data network and the carbon footprint of electricity production, as shown in in Figure 1. [...] Combining the data of the amount of network data used by trackers and advertisement services, the electricity consumption of the data network and the carbon footprint of electricity production presented in Chapter 3, we estimate that the yearly carbon footprint of data-use by advertising and tracking services in smartphone apps in Europe is between 5 and 14 Mt CO2-eq. [...] The uncertainty in this number is caused by the uncertainty in the energy consumption of data-use and the uncertainty in the data-use by ATS services. [...] Furthermore, the lower estimate of the carbon footprint of unwanted data-use is comparable to 70% of the yearly CO2 emissions of the Uniper coal-fired powerplant in the Netherlands. [...] The carbon footprint of these services for individual consumers might be much higher or lower than the average carbon footprint and depends on many factors, such as the type of phone, the number of apps installed, the user behaviour, the type of network subscription, the country of residence, etc.