Google Is Collecting Your Cell ID Data Androiders…Didn’t You Know?

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Google sets out to collect user data, and makes no bones about it, but now the company is under fire for collecting cell ID’s, or cell tower location data, from Android users without their knowledge. Androidcentral.com reported that Google failed to disclose a pretty severe privacy violation and that’s bad for everyone, especially Android users.

In the case of Android, Google argues that by allowing the device to collect location data, it can enhance services from Google Maps to Assistant and “further improve the speed and performance of message delivery.” However, Google began collecting data in early 2017 from all Android devices, even those with no SIM card, and the data was never incorporated into any notification enhancements. 

To further complicate matters, location data is not something manufacturers or platform owners typically collect. Instead, the data is stored by the provider and is rarely shared with outside vendors. Occasionally, the information is subpoenaed as part of a criminal investigation — remember the first season of Serial? — but it is understood that a person’s cell tower data because it is so valuable, is never to be shared with third-party advertisers, according to Androidcentral.com.

According to a Google spokesperson, “we never incorporated Cell ID into our network sync system, so that data was immediately discarded, and we updated it to no longer request Cell ID.”

Google now says it will release an update later in the month to disable the practice altogether, but the damage to its reputation might already be done. According to Androidcentral.com, Google should never have been collecting Cell ID data in the first place; it should never have done so without a SIM card present; and it should never have kept it a secret.

November 27, 2017               

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