Google is to make changes to its Dialer and Messages apps on android phones after privacy concerns were raised about the implications of data collected.

A study led by Prof Doug Leith at the Connect SFI Research Centre for Future Networks at Trinity College Dublin details the extensive data collected via the use of these apps.

The apps, used to make and receive calls or to send and receive SMS and other messages, are pre-installed on many Android phones.

According to Google, more than 1 billion phones have both. In the US, AT&T and T-Mobile recently announced that all Android phones on their networks will use the Google Messages app and the app also comes pre-loaded on Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei handsets.

The TCD study established that the Messages app tells Google whenever a message is sent or received.

The information sent includes the time and an ID code creat