Android Devices Reveal User's Location To Google Even If Users Opted Out
Android users beware as a recent investigation revealed that devices running the mobile operating system continued to track a user's general location even when the service is turned off. Smartphones then send the collected location data to Google in what one privacy advocate described as a "betrayal" of users.
According to a report by Quartz, smartphones running Android software gather data and send them once connected to the internet. Even precautions such as turning off location services, not using an app, or even not inserting a carrier SIM card cannot prevent this from happening, their investigation revealed.
Since the beginning of 2017, Android devices have been collecting the addresses of nearby cellular towers. These are then sent to Google allowing the tech giant to individuals' locations and their movements that go beyond a reasonable consumer expectation of privacy. There was also no option to disable the practice, at least from the user's standpoint.
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Google did admit to collecting user location data for 11 months. According to the company, it was done as an additional signal to further improve the speed and performance of message delivery.
"We never incorporated Cell ID into our network sync system, so that data was immediately discarded," Google said in a statement. However, Online rights group Privacy International said that the findings showed people had "little control" over what smartphones did in the background.
"When we buy a smartphone, we don't expect it to betray us," said Millie Graham Wood, a solicitor for Privacy International. "While Google states in this instance it will stop the practice, this raises the question of what else it is doing beyond the knowledge of the user, and why."
It is not clear how the cell towers addresses, transmitted as a data string that identifies a specific cell tower, can be used to improve the speed and performance of message delivery. However, the revelation that Google is covertly monitoring Android is troubling particularly for people who'd prefer they weren't tracked.
Google has said that that it doesn't use any of the data it collects using the practice. However, the fact that they were willing to covertly track users without their knowledge cast serious doubts about the company's sincerity.
The revelation comes just as Google and other internet companies are currently under scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators regarding the extent to which they vacuum up data about users. This is mainly due to the fact that data gathering has been foundational to the business successes of these companies who built multi-billion dollar empires through targeted advertising and personalization.
