UPDATED 20:42 EDT / AUGUST 13 2018

APPS

Google records location of users even when tracking is turned off

Google LLC has been discovered to track and record the location of users across multiple apps even when they’ve turned tracking off, according to a new report from The Associated Press.

It’s well-known that Google and its apps track where users are located at any given point of time, with geolocation data being used for a variety of purposes. But until now it was presumed, wrongly as it turns out, that opting out of being tracked turned the feature off.

According to the AP report Sunday, “many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store your location data even if you’ve used a privacy setting that says it will prevent Google from doing so.” That can result in a privacy risk given that users are still being tracked without their permission.

Jesse Victors, software security consultant at Synopsys Inc. explained the issue to SiliconANGLE, saying that when Google builds a control into Android and then doesn’t honor it, there’s a “strong potential” for abuse.

“It is sometimes extremely important to keep one’s location history private; such as visiting a domestic violence shelter, for example,” he said. “Other times you may simply wish to opt out of data collection. It’s disingenuous and misleading to have a toggle switch that does not completely work. This, and other examples before it, are one of the reasons why my phone runs LineageOS, a Google-free fork of Android.”

The news was quick to gain the attention of those in high office. ABC News reported that “lawmakers are vowing to step up their oversight of the data collection practices of giant technology companies” after the AP report.

Tim Mackey, technology evangelist at Synopsys, noted that “when we recognize that our digital footprint is effectively a personally identifying attribute, access to that attribute becomes more valuable.”

“This is true for marketers wishing to learn when we’re in the mood to buy their product, and in a location where it’s available,” he said. “This is true for malicious actors who can use location information to determine not only patterns of behavior for their targets but know when to best commit their crime. This is also true for law enforcement seeking to identify suspects following the commission of a crime. In each of these examples, the same location and identity data can be used for good or for ill to identify an individual.”

Although it’s not easy, there is a way for users to disable Google’s geolocation tracking. Instead of simply switching the location tracking option off alone, toggling “Web and App Activity” to off prevents Google from being able to store a snapshot of location data.

Image: Duncan Riley

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