April 26, 2011

Google comes clean about tracking Android user movements

by Shalu Pillai

When news about Apple tracking users of the iOS system came out, it was more the revelation that left us amused, than the fact that they could. Now Google too has admitted to being able to do the same thing with users of Android powered devices. According to a Google spokesperson, “All location sharing on Android is opt-in by the user. We provide users with notice and control over the collection, sharing and use of location in order to provide a better mobile experience on Android devices.

The good news is that, any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymised and is not tied or traceable to a specific user. In addition, data is stored in a consolidated.db file, the same as with the Apple iPhone, and this can be sorted out by turning off the location services feature on the device.
[Zedomax]