Leave it at home. Don't think that Google is the only culprit here. As long as you're connected to public infrastructure there's a company that will be legally obligated to narc on you.
Google might be just the latest addition. Or maybe the traditional media has declared outright war on internet companies in retaliation for taking their ad and subscriber revenue.
If you're going to commit a crime, leave your phone at home so that (1) you can't be linked to the crime scene and (2) there's evidence you may have been somewhere else (at home) at the time.
> All that effort is better focused on committing legal white collar crimes, via plausible deniability and in person conversations that aren’t recorded.
We've got about 5 minutes before "in person conversations that aren't recorded" are a historical artifact.
I’m assuming you’re just joking but think about location tracking the next time you want to attend some demonstration for example.
Should be perfectly legal to demonstrate but if you’ve got you’re phone on you someone will know you were there and protesting for X.
That’s very valuable information not just for law enforcement but also for marketing/advertising and also for more scummy stuff like influencing your political choices (eg Cambride Analytica style).
I don’t have my phone on my when I attend events that could “leak” my political or ethical choices.
Activists are already well aware of the need for proper opsec.
Leave your phone at home, use a burner phone (and don't reuse it!), don't call any personal phone numbers,, don't use your normal accounts, don't blab on social media, and so on and so forth.
Basic stuff, but sometimes people do get careless.
Google might be just the latest addition. Or maybe the traditional media has declared outright war on internet companies in retaliation for taking their ad and subscriber revenue.