If yes, thus yous are 1 of those billions of users whose smartphone is secretly gathering place information together with sending it dorsum to Google.
Google has been caught collecting place information on every Android device possessor since the outset of this twelvemonth (that's for the past times xi months)—even when place services are solely disabled, according to an investigation conducted past times Quartz.
This location-sharing do doesn't desire your Android smartphone to role whatsoever app, or plow on place services, or fifty-fifty convey a SIM carte du jour inserted.
All it wants is to convey your Android device to hold upward connected to the Internet.
The investigation revealed that Android smartphones convey been collecting the addresses of nearby cellular towers, together with this information could hold upward used for "Cell Tower Triangulation"—a technique widely used to position the place of a phone/device using information from iii or to a greater extent than nearby prison theatre cellular telephone towers.
Each fourth dimension your Android device comes inside the attain of a novel prison theatre cellular telephone tower, it gathers the prison theatre cellular telephone tower address together with sends this information dorsum to Google when the device is connected to a WiFi network or has a cellular information enabled.
Since the part responsible for collecting place information resides inwards Android's amount Firebase Cloud Messaging service that manages force notifications together with messages on the operating system, it cannot hold upward disabled together with doesn't rely on what apps yous convey installed—even if yous mill reset your smartphone or take away the SIM card.
When Quartz contacted the tech giant nigh this location-sharing practice, Google spokesperson replied: "We began looking into using Cell ID codes equally an additional signal to farther ameliorate the speed together with functioning of message delivery."
Although it is notwithstanding unknown how cell-tower information that helps position a specific prison theatre cellular telephone tower could convey been helped Google ameliorate message delivery, the fact that the company's mobile operating organization is collecting place information is a consummate violation of user's privacy.
Even inwards its privacy policy nigh place sharing, Google mentions that it volition collect place information from devices that role its services, simply has non indicated whether the companionship volition collect information from Android devices when all place services are disabled.
"When yous role Google services, nosotros may collect together with procedure information nigh your actual location," Google's privacy policy reads.
"We role diverse technologies to produce upward one's heed location, including IP address, GPS, together with other sensors that may, for example, render Google amongst information on nearby devices, Wi-Fi access points, together with prison theatre cellular telephone towers."Moreover, this location-sharing do is non express to whatsoever detail Android cry model or manufacturer, equally the tech giant was patently collecting prison theatre cellular telephone tower information from all modern Android devices earlier beingness contacted past times Quartz.
Although the companionship said that it never used or stored this place information it collected on its users together with that it is at in 1 lawsuit taking steps to halt this practice, this information could hold upward used to target location-based promotion when the user enters whatsoever shop or restaurant.
According to Google, Android phones volition no longer assemble together with mail cell-tower place information dorsum to Google past times the halt of this month.
