Abstract:
The past decade has seen a major shift in electronic media, especially in the
entertainment sector. Now, more people are consuming content through digital media,
which was earlier being viewed via electronic media. This has given rise to online video
streaming platforms which allow users to view content at the time of their convenience as
opposed to electronic media where the transmission has a set schedule. Initially, these
platforms could only be accessed through their web-based applications, but over time
mobile applications were also developed for these video streaming platforms. These
applications tend to store personal information and also leave behind remnants of the
activities performed even after the application has been uninstalled. These remnants need
to be examined to verify whether they violate the privacy of the user. In the scenario
where malicious actors gain access to the mobile device of a user, it can prove
detrimental for the user. Furthermore, they can also aid in investigations where the law enforcing authorities need to cross-check the alibi of the suspects. A very common use
case for this can be a road accident where the law enforcement agencies can prove that
the suspect was viewing a video on one of these platforms. This thesis will be examining
the android applications of the top three and most popular video streaming platforms
which are Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and iFlix. Amongst the three, Netflix is the
most popular and has been present for the longest time. Several video streaming activities
will be performed through the above mentioned applications on a rooted android mobile
device, after which we will take a physical image for analysis. The goal is to present the
artifacts left behind the applications along with the path to their location in a well documented format that will assist the forensic investigators to get a better understanding
of the applications’ behavior. It was found that Netflix leaves behinds the most detailed
artifacts of the user’s activities whereas iFlix stores the least amount of artifacts on the
mobile device.
