Software giant Google is facing allegations for intentionally making it difficult for users to hide their location data from the company.
As reported first by Business Insider, undisclosed documents from a recent lawsuit against Google showed that the company hadn’t just made it difficult for users to hide location data, but also pressurized smartphone makers like LG to follow in its footsteps.
The documents also showed that Google’s own employees were aware and worried about the issue.
At least two employees claimed that users couldn’t share location with an app on their Android phone without sharing that same data with Google.
There’s more to it
As more proof of Google’s malpractice, one of the company’s Former VP for Google Maps, Jack Menzel, also admitted during a deposition, that there was no way for users to hide their home and work locations from Google.
Unless users intentionally set wrong addresses for home and work on Maps, Google will be able to track the exact location of the user
The company also tested various versions of its Android Operating System by incorporating privacy settings that made its users difficult to switch it off, as it saw users taking advantage of normal privacy settings to disable “Location Tracking”.
Lastly, Google tried to convince smartphone makers to do the same “through active misrepresentations and/or concealment, suppression, or omission of facts,” as shown in documents, which are now part of public records on the Arizona Attorney General’s website.
The documents aren’t directly accessible in India, but you can use a virtual private network (VPN) to go through the entire list.
And Google has (as usual) denied these allegations in a statement.
Speaking to The Verge, the company’s spokesperson told that the lawsuit is driven by its competitors and they “have gone out of their way to mischaracterize” Google’s services.
“We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data. We look forward to setting the record straight”
– Google spokesperson
It doesn’t matter what Google says.
We are all aware that Google earns most of its money by tracking and monitoring users and their interests. That’s how the company operates its business model in its products such as Google Ads, Maps, YouTube, etc.
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