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by Grimeton 716 days ago
Biggest issue with this: No button to turn it off.
2 comments

Google provides a mechanism to disable location tracking.

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3118687?hl=en

https://www.androidpolice.com/how-to-disable-google-location...

I've seen this as a small part in more general articles on increasing privacy in all of your Google settings.

They're also purging server side location data and moving it to devices.

https://support.google.com/maps/answer/14169818

https://blog.google/products/maps/updates-to-location-histor...

https://9to5google.com/2023/12/12/google-location-history-ti...

From the last link, importantly:

> Update 12/15: This change means that Google will no longer respond to geofence warrants from law enforcement that request information on all devices near a particular incident.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2023/12/14/google-...

https://9to5google.com/2019/04/13/google-android-location-hi...

So what? They almost certainly have other sources of location data.

99% of google apps will harvest your personal data by default.

e.g. gboard will send google the name of the app you use their keyboard in every time it's used. the google dialer will send the phone number of every received call to google (for caller and spam ID). Google pay sends every transaction you make to google (including the date, merchant, amount, etc) If you use google photos with backup disabled, they will literally nag you every time you open the app, requesting that you sync their photos - and they use dark patterns to hinder your attempt to decline this.

There's always been a button to turn it off. I remember making that choice when I got my first Android phone, more than a decade ago.

Not to mention that it has been opt-in for years.