Home
News
You are here

Google taken to court over questionable location tracking practices

5comments

By Milen Yanachkov

Published: Aug 21, 2018, 5:06 AM

Google taken to court over questionable location tracking practices

Although pausing "Location History" tracking on your Google account may lead you to believe that you're stopping Google from collecting time-stamped location data for your devices, this is not actually the case. This much was revealed in a recent Associated Press report that shed light on Google's confusing and questionable location tracking practices.

As was expected, not even a week following the revelation, Google was taken to court by a disgruntled user, who now wants to represent everyone in the US who may be affected by Google's practices.

One Napoleon Patacsil has filed a lawsuit against the Internet search giant, claiming the company has violated numerous privacy laws, including the California Invasion of Privacy Act and the right to privacy enshrined in the California constitution. The lawsuit seeks to represent all affected Google users in the US, both on Android and iOS.

"Google expressly represented to users of its operating system and apps that the activation of certain settings will prevent the tracking of users' geolocation," the legal complaint reads. "That representation was false."

Mr Patacsil's request to represent all affected users in the US is pending judicial approval.

This is not the first time Google is in hot water over tracking users' location in questionable ways. Last November, a number of reports emerged, suggesting that Android phones can still track their users' location, even with location services turned off and the SIM card taken out. This was done by gathering information from cell towers. Google said that this feature would be turned off in December of 2017.

via CNET

$349

$799

$450 off (56%)

Mint Mobile now sells the Google Pixel 10 with a massive $450 discount. The promo is available on select color variants with 128GB of storage. You also get a 12-month unlimited data plan for $180 instead of $360.

Buy at Mint Mobile

$524

$999

$475 off (48%)

Grab the pro-grade, compact Pixel 10 Pro at Mint Mobile with a 12-month unlimited plan, and you can save a huge $475. The data plan comes with a discount, too: 50% off, to be exact.

Buy at Mint Mobile

$499

$1199

$700 off (58%)

The high-end Gemini AI-enhanced Pixel 10 Pro XL is now available with a mind-blowing discount. You can now save $700 on the phone, plus 50% off unlimited 12-month plans.

Buy at Mint Mobile

$1399

$1799

$400 off (22%)

The foldable Pixel 10 Pro Fold is another standout holiday offer. Right now, you can get the device for $400 off at Mint Mobile. On top of that, you save $180 on 12-month unlimited data plans.

Buy at Mint Mobile