Google is exposed again for secretly collecting user privacy, and all Android and Apple users are affected

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Google has done something bad (again).

Recently, the Associated Press released an investigative report saying that Google's Android automatically stores users' location data. This search giant and AI giant is still secretly recording your location information, even if you have turned off location history in the privacy settings.

iPhone users, don't laugh.

Not only Android, as long as you install and use Google applications or services on your iPhone, the results are exactly the same.

With the Facebook privacy data incident in the past, this discovery naturally caused an uproar.

Google knows where you go

In fact, the Google privacy issues that the Associated Press is concerned about involve two aspects.

First, there are services and apps that use location, such as Google Maps and daily weather updates on Android.

Google will apply and remind you in advance, which is the "agree" you initially checked and the reminder of the location being used.

However, after these location privacy are used, they will not be automatically deleted. They will lie there as historical records and become part of your daily activity trajectory.

Americans believe this poses a privacy risk and there is precedent for this.

There was a homicide case in North Carolina before, and the police finally identified the suspect through the "historical location" of equipment near the crime scene.

This privacy risk makes Americans very worried.

The more important issue is that even if you turn off the location history option, it does not mean that Google will not use your location.

When you use some Google apps, location data usage happens automatically without you being asked.

For example, if you use Google to search for "chocolate cookies" or "children's science kits", there is no need to use location, but your location information will still be recorded with precision to longitude and latitude - and stored in your Google account.

The Americans will never accept such behavior.

Their attitude is that if Google really intends to allow users to have "location history" and related data, it should be strict and rigorous, and turn off the place where location history is saved when the user turns it off.

And stop all collection and tagging of location information by Android devices.

The Associated Press even conducted a practical demonstration of the exercise.

They had Princeton researcher Gunes Acar move about normally with an Android phone that had its location history turned off, and then exported his Google account.

Then it became clear where Gunes Acar had been.

Connecting his location information together gives us a map of mobile privacy, including Acar's train commutes, two trips to New York, visits to parks, Chelsea Market, restaurants, Central Park activities, and a trip to Harlem.

So what Google said "can be turned off" is useless.

Criminal record

In fact, this is not the first time that Google has secretly collected your location privacy information.

Last November, this company, which is known for not doing evil, was exposed that even if users disabled location services and did not open any apps, Google would still collect the location information of Android users.

Even if you don't have a SIM card inserted, it still can't be prevented.

According to Quatz's investigation at the time, all of the above measures were ineffective. Android phones would silently collect location data about users and send it back to Google once they were connected to the Internet.

△ Qz said that Android will collect location information and share it online by default

Since the beginning of 2017, Android phones have been searching for the addresses of nearby mobile phone towers and then secretly sending the data to Google. Users' location information and even itinerary information are all in Google's hands.

Faced with the evidence, Google admitted its practice.

Why do this?

Google officially explained that it has been collecting base station information through users' mobile phones since January last year, with the aim of "further improving the speed and performance of information transmission" through base station positioning data.

However, Google has never made a clear statement on what improvements can be achieved by obtaining base station positioning information.

This method reportedly doesn't work with phone models or phone manufacturers, so resetting the phone to factory settings won't work, as will disabling location services as mentioned above, or not installing a SIM card.

This incident caused panic among the public abroad, and security experts also expressed their incomprehension of Google's behavior.

Obviously, this information can help Google push ads better and has considerable commercial value. However, the greater risk is that once this location information is obtained by other monitoring software or hackers, the interests of users may be further harmed.

At the time, Google said it had never used the data and was taking steps to end the practice.

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Google's heart-breaking argument for advertising growth

So why is Google repeatedly singled out for location privacy data issues?

The American media said: It is for more accurate advertising and to increase revenue.

And this kind of criticism is not groundless. The Associated Press said that since 2014, Google has proved the effectiveness of using location information to drive online advertising traffic, and this location information is heavily dependent on the user's location history.

In 2017, Google's advertising revenue reached US$95.4 billion, an increase of 20%, which is believed to be closely related to the use of location-related information.

And at the Google Marketing Summit held in July, Google also launched a new tool for local advertising that can be used through location information, allowing users to go to nearby physical stores after seeing online ads.

To put it in a concept familiar to the Chinese people, it is called O2O or new retail.

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How to turn off location history?

Google's response is that location data recording helps improve the user experience, but these services can be turned off at any time and history records can be deleted at any time.

But this did not immediately convince the Americans, and they soon discovered that it took a lot of effort to delete these private records.

Of course, Google’s location information can still be completely turned off.

After the US media tried it themselves, they gave a complete set of steps:

If you want to remove Google's permission to monitor your phone's location, you need to turn off both Location History and web and app activity.

The specific method is as follows:

1. Open Settings on an Android device, or open Google Maps' settings on an iOS device.
2. On Android, go to "Data & personalization" and then "Location"; on iOS, go to "Location settings"
3. Turn off Location History for your own account or for your entire device.
4. Log in to your Google Account and go to the Activity Control screen.
5. Turn off "web and app activity". This will prevent information/local data from being saved to your account.

So the question is, should I turn it off or keep it on?

Keeping your location and data tracked will allow you to use more Google features, including commute estimates and ads relevant to your area.

If you turn it off, you can protect your privacy and keep your data in your own hands.

But convenience will be compromised accordingly.

Didn’t Baidu CEO Robin Li, Google’s competitor in China, say that giving up a certain amount of privacy can be exchanged for convenience and a better experience?

It depends on how you weigh the pros and cons.

The comments section is overcrowded

There is no doubt that once Google's privacy issues were exposed, the comment section exploded.

Some people say that having your home address hacked is the scariest thing.

This is a common concern about the leakage of personal information.

Funny worries look like this:

“Google is hiring! No need to apply, we already have all your information.”

Most of the spectators are still in a relaxed and happy state.

For example, spend money to follow Google to take risks!

The comment section was filled with enthusiasm, and many people quoted from classics.

American actor James Woods said that if George Orwell were alive, the "Big Brother" that monitors you in "1984" might have become "Google". The number of likes has exceeded the original AP push.

Also, the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, which "emitted a yellow light like a demon cat."

Being stared at is always unsettling, just like when I was in school, the pair of eyes on the back window seemed to see through everything.

Being seen through by teachers or by Google doesn't sound safe.

I wonder what you think?