Google records your location even when you tell it not to

[HungoverRabbit]

A team of Princeton researchers has confirmed AP's claim that Google records users location data even when "location history" is paused.

Quote

An Associated Press investigation found that 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.

 

 

It seems that the only effect of pausing location history is to stop users, and not Google, from seeing where they have been.

 

Quote

Storing your minute-by-minute travels carries privacy risks and has been used by police to determine the location of suspects. So the company will let you “pause” a setting called “location history”.

Google says that will prevent the company from remembering where you've been. Google's support page on the subject states: “You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored.” 

That isn't true. Even with “location history” paused, some Google apps automatically store time-stamped location data without asking.

For example, Google stores a snapshot of where you are when you merely open its Maps app. Automatic daily weather updates on Android phones pinpoint roughly where you are. And some searches that have nothing to do with location, such as “chocolate chip cookies” or “kids science kits”, pinpoint your precise latitude and longitude accurate to the square foot and save it to your Google account.

The privacy issue affects about 2 billion users of devices that run Google's Android operating software and hundreds of millions of worldwide iPhone users who rely on Google for maps or search.

Storing location data in violation of a user's preferences was wrong, said Jonathan Mayer, a Princeton computer scientist and former chief technologist for the Federal Communications Commission's enforcement bureau. A researcher from Mayer's lab confirmed the AP's findings on multiple Android devices; the AP conducted its own tests on several iPhones that found the same behavior.

1

 

To be honest I would prefer if Google was more upfront about the quantity of data they gather instead of giving seemingly useless options to disable/pause "Location history"; definitely now that consumers only have the choice between Android and iOS.

 

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/13/google-location-tracking-android-iphone-mobile

[Trik'Stari]

Is there anyone who actually expected turning location history off to actually make them stop recording your location?

[PlayStation 2]

woag big tech data mines you even when you don't ask it to

what a shock

[Bananasplit_00]

Wait didn't they admit to doing this like last year? 

[captain_to_fire]

22 minutes ago, HungoverRabbit said:

hundreds of millions of worldwide iPhone users who rely on Google for maps or search.

I can think of some quick fixes especially for iPhone users:

1. Go to Settings>scroll down to the Google app>Location>change from "Always" to "While using" or "Never".
2. Settings>Safari>Search Engine>change from Google to "DuckDuckGo".
3. Settings>Safari>turn on"Ask Websites Not to track me"

Or if one can live without Google services, just uninstall them and stop using Gmail and use iCloud or Protonmail instead.

16 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

woag big tech data mines you even when you don't ask it to

what a shock

Well they shouldn't. I'm fine if they collect personal data by default but they should respect if someone doesn't want location included to the telemetry data. Remember that in the EU, Alphabet can face a fine of 20 million euros or 4% of their annual turnover, whether which one is higher.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rights-citizens/my-rights/when-should-i-exercise-my-right-restriction-processing-my-personal-data_en

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rights-citizens/how-my-personal-data-protected/how-should-my-consent-be-requested_en

[PlayStation 2]

2 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

Well they shouldn't. I'm fine if they collect personal data by default but they should respect if someone doesn't want location included to the telemetry data. Remember that in the EU, Alphabet can face a fine of 20 million euros or 4% of their annual turnover, whether which one is higher.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rights-citizens/my-rights/when-should-i-exercise-my-right-restriction-processing-my-personal-data_en

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rights-citizens/how-my-personal-data-protected/how-should-my-consent-be-requested_en

Lemme ask you something: do you think Alphabet gives a damn about what the EU thinks?

I'm not asking should they, I'm asking do they.

They probably don't, and they probably have their ways of either skirting around laws or lobbying against them.

 

SHOULD they follow the laws? Of course, I believe every corporation and company and whatever should follow the laws, but big corporations in general are notorious for either going around laws (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.) or lobbying against them (The Walt Disney Company is very infamous for this, why do you think copyright is fucking stupid?) to achieve their goals.

[Tech Enthusiast]

Honestly, uhm,... I don't see why anyone would expect that a single checkbox would do this.

 

Every company uses your locations for all the services that THE USER wants to work.

 

You want to know where the next pizza hut is? Guess what, they need your location for the answer. Duh!

Every picture taken has the location in the meta data. Used to filter your pictures, just like the date it was taken at. So they need your location for that.

You open the Maps app and don't want to first see a place that is 5000 miles away? Guess what, they need your location for that.

 

I don't disagree with possibly wanting to turn all this off, but most people don't seem to realize how many benefits the user has due to locations.

Having one checkbox turn it off for every app is kinda impossible. Not only Google does this, they all HAVE TO. How would a single checkbox in the OS turn off say... Navigon Maps location feature? Or insert any other third party app here.

 

TL;DR:

Location services are build into almost every app, because users expect the apps to work great. And most apps really need that location data to work well. You could turn it off, but most apps would utterly suck without the data.

[Castdeath97]

15 minutes ago, Rattenmann said:

Honestly, uhm,... I don't see why anyone would expect that a single checkbox would do this.

 

Every company uses your locations for all the services that THE USER wants to work.

 

You want to know where the next pizza hut is? Guess what, they need your location for the answer. Duh!

Every picture taken has the location in the meta data. Used to filter your pictures, just like the date it was taken at. So they need your location for that.

You open the Maps app and don't want to first see a place that is 5000 miles away? Guess what, they need your location for that.

 

I don't disagree with possibly wanting to turn all this off, but most people don't seem to realize how many benefits the user has due to locations.

Having one checkbox turn it off for every app is kinda impossible. Not only Google does this, they all HAVE TO. How would a single checkbox in the OS turn off say... Navigon Maps location feature? Or insert any other third party app here.

 

TL;DR:

Location services are build into almost every app, because users expect the apps to work great. And most apps really need that location data to work well. You could turn it off, but most apps would utterly suck without the data.

We are talking about recording  location data not using location. The GDPR and even some other older regulations even state that you have to only store data for as long as you need it. Does google need your location to find Pizza hut for the time you have your navigation on? Yes. Do they need it afterwards if the user stated explicitly not to? NO, and doing so is in violation of GDPR.

[suicidalfranco]

the EU is about to rack more billions out of this one folks

[kilgore_T]

[Doobeedoo]

Google stop!

My life is not your porn!

[captain_to_fire]

44 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

lobbying against them.

I don't think big corporations lobbying in the US congress works the same way with the EU especially that they have been fined for anti-trust worth $5bn https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-17/google-said-to-have-11th-hour-call-with-eu-ahead-of-android-fine

 

 

[asus killer]

i blame the US, they are unwilling to control their big tech companies. More EU fines please.

[MrShinny]

But if you dont tell google where you are they can't give you the right ads. 

[rcmaehl]

Quote

Google stores a snapshot of where you are when you merely open its Maps app.

It's a MAP app. It needs to have at least SOME idea of your general location, even if it's just your country or city.

 

Quote

Automatic daily weather updates on Android phones pinpoint roughly where you are.

Yes, if you have your location set to automatic.The weather for New York isn't too useful for most people in SoCal.

 

Quote

And some searches that have nothing to do with location, such as “chocolate chip cookies” or “kids science kits”, pinpoint your precise latitude and longitude accurate to the square foot and save it to your Google account.

Uh no. GPS is accurate to only 30m. It can record additional info like what WiFi you're near but it won't get that accurate if you have location off.

 

 

As someone who uses a variety of Apps on my LineageOS device. I can assure you Facebook and Messenger request my location 10x-20x more than Google does.

[rcmaehl]

16 minutes ago, Nicholatian said:

I dunno what holler you're thinking of or if your information is painfully outdated or what, but you're off by a factor of 100. New GPS chips can offer accuracy within 30 centimetres. Source

Yes, however the only phone with that chip (aka Dual Frequency GNSS) is the Xiaomi Mi 8, despite it being hyped as a major, potential, feature for 2018 phones. We're 2/3 through the year already.

[handymanshandle]

Actually here's a really simple, solution. Don't buy another phone with Android on it.

While Windows phone is dead, iOS really doesn't seem that bad. This is coming from someone who used iOS all the way back from iOS 4 to iOS 6 on an 8GB 4th Gen iPod Touch and havent had the chance to really use iOS since and has been running all Android phones since late 2014.

[HungoverRabbit]

13 minutes ago, pinksnowbirdie said:

Actually here's a really simple, solution. Don't buy another phone with Android on it.

While Windows phone is dead, iOS really doesn't seem that bad. This is coming from someone who used iOS all the way back from iOS 4 to iOS 6 on an 8GB 4th Gen iPod Touch and havent had the chance to really use iOS since and has been running all Android phones since late 2014.

The issue talked about in the article is to do with google maps, not Android itself. Last I heard Google Maps was still the better option on iOS (correct me if I'm wrong), so switching won't make much difference in this case.

[TroubleKlef]

I mean this is Google's bread and butter. Their core business is to collect the most data points about you and use it to sell advertisements. It's not totally unexpected.

[Sniperfox47]

*facepalm*

 

Is the complaint here really that turning off one specific Google feature doesn't specifically turn off all location tracking?

 

"Location history" is not, has never been, and never will be a toggle for all location data. It is a specific feature who's  purpose is to remember and show you where you have been. Turning that feature off turns off *that feature*.

 

If you want to disable location entirely there's a setting for that... It's called "Location" in Settings > Google > Location... Disables both coarse and fine location data and on Android 8 and 9 blocks all apps even if they have the location permission (yes, even system apps).

 

FFS people.

 

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

26 minutes ago, pinksnowbirdie said:

Actually here's a really simple, solution. Don't buy another phone with Android on it.

Android itself is not the problem, it's all the junk that Google adds on top.  If you can get rid of that, the whole problem is solved.

[handymanshandle]

17 minutes ago, Captain Chaos said:

Android itself is not the problem, it's all the junk that Google adds on top.  If you can get rid of that, the whole problem is solved.

Doesn't that defeat the purpose though?
 

[handymanshandle]

21 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

*facepalm*

 

Is the complaint here really that turning off one specific Google feature doesn't specifically turn off all location tracking?

 

"Location history" is not, has never been, and never will be a toggle for all location data. It is a specific feature who's  purpose is to remember and show you where you have been. Turning that feature off turns off *that feature*.

 

If you want to disable location entirely there's a setting for that... It's called "Location" in Settings > Google > Location... Disables both coarse and fine location data and on Android 8 and 9 blocks all apps even if they have the location permission (yes, even system apps).

 

FFS people.

 

Seems pretty counter intuitive.

[Sniperfox47]

9 minutes ago, pinksnowbirdie said:

Seems pretty counter intuitive.

You mean that the setting literally labelled "Location" disables your location?

 

And I gave them long path because it applies to all devices. On any stock (Pixel/Nexus) or stock-like (newer Sony, Essential, Huawei, etc.) It's also available under Settings > Security and Location > Location. It links to the exact same page.

 

Location History has always been a feature to build a map of your location. Heck it specifically says that at the bottom of the settings page for it. "Creates a private map of where you go with your signed in devices." Right above the Manage Timeline button.

[Tech_Dreamer]

saw a report on fox months ago , its not a new thing.