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Android Users Need To Delete Google Maps and Google Play If They Don't Want Their Locations Tracked (theregister.co.uk)

Posted by msmash on from the location-trap dept.

Kieren McCarthy, reporting for The Register: Google, it seems, is very, very interested in knowing where you are at all times. Users have reported battery life issues with the latest Android build, with many pointing the finger at Google Play -- Google's app store -- and its persistent, almost obsessive need to check where you are. Amid complaints that Google Play is always switching on GPS, it appears Google has made it impossible to prevent the app store from tracking your whereabouts unless you completely kill off location tracking for all applications. You can try to deny Google Play access to your handheld's location by opening the Settings app and digging through Apps -> Google Play Store -> Permissions, and flipping the switch for "location." But you'll be told you can't just shut out Google Play services: you have to switch off location services for all apps if you want to block the store from knowing your whereabouts. It's all or nothing, which isn't particularly nice. This is because Google Play services pass on your location to installed apps via an API. The store also sends your whereabouts to Google to process. Google doesn't want you to turn this off.

4 of 395 comments (clear)

  1. Why is this a problem? by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I love Big Brother. Don't you love Big Brother? Maybe you need re-education.

    1. Re:Why is this a problem? by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's doubleplus don't be evil.

      Didn't Sergei grow up in the Moscow? He's built a panopticon that would make Stalin drool.

  2. Just the beginning by somenickname · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It won't be long before they start selling intrusive ads based on location, time of day, etc. It's around lunch time and you're walking on the street? Your phone buzzes to recommend a restaurant for you. That kind of advertisement could be sold to restaurants based on location, time of day, implied salary, whether you frequent a competitor, etc.

  3. Re: Fake GPS location spoofer by farble1670 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This should be modded way down. "Not buying the product" on an individual level does SHIT to change corporate behavior.

    Yes you are right. Keep buying their shit and giving them money, but come here and whine about it. You know how to affect change. You are truly a revolutionary my friend.

    Plus, giving up that fancy smartphone would be HARD. No Angry Birds. No Snapchat. It's not a life worth living.