Google has been collecting location data from Android phones even when setting is turned off
The tech giant said it never used the data and an update is removing it.
Google has been collecting location data from some Android smartphones even when location services are turned off and no SIM card is in place, it has been revealed.
According to news site Quartz, since January Google has been using a practice that “pings” nearby telephone masts and gathers their addresses before sending the information back to the technology giant.
This data could be used to pinpoint a user’s location, but Google has said it was never used or stored.
The technology giant confirmed the practice, but said an update to its Android operating system would stop the tool by the end of the month, once its rollout was complete.
In a statement, the company said some new Android phones regularly “ping” nearby telephone masts as part of a system to speed up the delivery of messages and other notifications, but the location data gathered – known as Cell ID – was not stored.
“In January of this year, we began looking into using Cell ID codes as an additional signal to further improve the speed and performance of message delivery.
“However, 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.
“MCC and MNC provide necessary network information for message and notification delivery and are distinctly separate from Location Services, which provide a device’s location to apps.”
Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch called the practice “disgraceful”.
“People should be 100% confident that if they opt out of services or disable connectivity from their devices they will be free from having their data, location or movements monitored and tracked,” chief executive Renate Samson said.
“That Android users’ locations have been hoovered up and sent to Google even when phones are, to all intents and purposes disabled, is absolutely disgraceful.
“Yet again we see utter contempt for people and their right to privacy from the big companies.”
