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Google clarifies how it tracks users even with Location History off
After the Associated Press reported that certain Google apps still track you even if you turned off location history, Google has changed its help pages and tried to clarify the issue. "We have been updating the explanatory language about Location History to make it more consistent and clear across our platforms and help centers," Google told the AP in a statement.
Google search knows where you were even if you disabled Location History
Earlier today, the Associated Press published a report detailing how Google can log users' locations even if they've opted out of the company's Location History feature. The report indicated that if you want to entirely opt out of Google location tracking, you'll need to access and opt out of a second feature as well, one called "Web & App History." Before getting into the details, here's a statement Google provided the AP (the company had not responded to our requests for comment as of publication time): "There are a number of different ways that Google may use location to improve people's experience, including: Location History, Web and App Activity, and through device-level Location Services. We provide clear descriptions of these tools, and robust controls so people can turn them on or off, and delete their histories at any time."
Google will fix Home and Chromecast bug that reveals your location
Don't look now, but your Google Home speaker or Chromecast could give away your whereabouts... for a little while, that is. Google has promised a fix for an authentication vulnerability that lets attackers obtain your location using the company's devices as a conduit. While the necessary Home app on your phone normally performs most tasks through Google's cloud services, others (such as setting a device name and WiFi connection) are sent directly to the Home or Chromecast without authentication. If you use domain name system rebinding software, you can exploit this to obtain nearby wireless networks and use Google's location lookup services to obtain a position to an accuracy of a few feet.
Foursquare puts check-in data to greater use in apps like Snapchat
Foursquare might not be as big as it was in its heyday, but it has a clever strategy for remaining important: it's making itself indispensable to the apps you use every day. On top of its recent Tinder Places deal, it's becoming the main point-of-interest provider for Mapbox, whose location info powers apps like Snapchat, Instacart and Lonely Planet. Even if you've never touched Foursquare or Swarm, you'll likely be using some of their data when you swing by a restaurant or hotel.
Snapchat now lets you 'send and request' location info with friends (updated)
Snapchat has started rolling out a new "Send and Request" location-sharing feature, according to TechCrunch. From its introduction, you could broadcast your location to all your friends, select friends or no one at all using Snap Map. This new feature still relies on Snap Map, but gives you another way to share your whereabouts with friends directly. And as always, you have to opt-in to location features in Snapchat.
Tinder Places matches you with people from your favorite hangouts
The science involved in making a match on Tinder is rudimentary at best: you can narrow your pool of potential baes by age and distance, and after that you're largely on your own, relying on carefully selected photographs and vague bios that reveal how your potential match "enjoys having fun", like every other human in the world. There's not a lot to work with before you get to the chatting stage. So Tinder is upping the ante with a new location-based feature, narrowing your prospects to those you cross paths with at your favourite bars, coffee shops and other hangouts.
LocationSmart reportedly leaked phone location data onto the web
It's starting to feel like everyone in charge of our sensitive data might be incompetent. It's only been a day since Securus, the company that helps police track phones, was apparently hacked. Now, according to security site KrebsOnSecurity, tracking firm LocationSmart leaked real-time location data on its own web site.
The company that helps police track phones was reportedly hacked
Securus is known for allegedly helping prisons violate Sixth Amendment protections by recording "at least" 14,000 phone calls between inmates and lawyers. There was also a report at The New York Times that a former sheriff in Mississippi County used the service to track cellphones, including those of other officers, without court orders. Now, an unidentified hacker has apparently provided Motherboard data from Securus, which includes usernames and "poorly secured" passwords for thousands of the company's customers in law enforcement.
Instagram Stories now allows multiple photo and video uploads at once
Instagram will now let users upload multiple pictures and videos to their Stories at once. When uploading media, you'll now see an icon at the top right corner of your screen and tapping it will allow you to select up to ten photos or videos at a time. They'll upload in the order in which you select them and you can edit each one individually. Additionally, when sharing a photo, even if you're not in the area where you took it, Instagram's location sticker will suggest places near the spot where you snapped the photo.
Uber drivers will no longer see exact location history for riders
Uber has been improving both driver and passenger safety with new features -- or, in its latest move, by modifying existing settings. As part of a new pilot program, the company will soon start obscuring the log of rider pickup and drop-off locations given to drivers. Instead, they'll receive a list of general areas.
Google makes Pixel 2's driving awareness available to Android apps
If you have a Pixel 2, you might have appreciated its Driving Do-Not-Disturb feature -- it can automatically minimize distractions while telling the difference between a stop at the intersection and the end of your ride. That intelligence hasn't really been available beyond Google's walls, however, and the company is fixing that problem. It's releasing a Transition programming kit that makes this contextual awareness available to all Android apps. The framework combines location, motion detection and other sensor data to gauge what you're doing without killing your phone's battery.
Set location-based reminders with your voice on Google Home
Google added voice-controlled Reminders to its Home devices last September, allowing it to catch up with Alexa and Siri. You could set one-off and recurring reminders on a daily or weekly basis as well as contextual reminders that would propagate to your Android phone, too. Now you can set location based reminders with your Google Home device and then get reminded on your phone.
Google opens Maps to bring the real world into games
Pokémon Go and other games that use real-world maps are all the rage, but there's a catch: they typically depend on semi-closed map frameworks that weren't intended for gaming, forcing developers to jump through hoops to use that mapping info. Google doesn't want that to be an issue going forward. The search firm is both opening its Maps platform's real-time data and offering new software toolkits that will help developers build games based on that data.
Google Maps may let you share your battery life status
Ever wanted to know if someone made it home safely, but didn't know if they had enough battery life to stay in touch along the way? You might not fret quite so much about it in the future. Android Police has spotted code in a Google Maps beta for Android that hints at sharing your remaining battery life alongside your location. You'd only get a generic range (likely because charge levels can change minute-to-minute), but this could be helpful if a friend's phone is running low on their way home from a night out.
Snapchat lets you create personalized Lenses for parties
If you post to Snapchat without a dancing hotdog or puppy face, did you even Snapchat? The platform already offers a baffling range of filters and AR novelties to play with, and now it's getting even more. From today, users will be able to create their very own personalized face lenses for events and celebrations, and have access to a whole bunch of new caption styles.
LG and Here help self-driving cars share their knowledge
Self-driving cars clearly stand to benefit from sharing data -- you want your car to know about traffic jams before you're stuck in gridlock. And LG knows it. The tech giant is partnering with Here on a next-gen communications hub for nearly or completely autonomous cars. Here's location info will help LG share a car's situational awareness with other vehicles, giving you customized driving info and (potentially) smarter decisions. If there's a road ahead with mercifully light traffic, for instance, your car might turn on to it to avoid delays.
Supreme Court considers if your privacy rights include location data
With all the attention focused on the FCC's upcoming vote to dismantle net neutrality protections, it's easy to have missed an upcoming hearing that has the potential to reshape electronic-privacy protection. Today, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in Carpenter v. United States — and at issue is cellphone-tower location data that law enforcement obtained without a warrant. Defendant Timothy Carpenter, who was convicted as the mastermind behind two years of armed robberies in Michigan and Ohio, has argued that his location data, as gathered by his cellphone service provider, is covered under the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against "unreasonable searches and seizures." Thus far, appeals courts have upheld the initial decision that law enforcement didn't need a warrant to acquire this data, so the Supreme Court is now tasked with determining whether this data is deserving of more-rigorous privacy protection.
Android phones track location info regardless of privacy settings
When you tell your phone to stop sharing your location, you expect it to honor your request, don't you? Unfortunately, that hasn't been entirely true with Android as of late. Quartz has confirmed that, starting in early 2017, Android phones have been sending the addresses of nearby cellular towers and sending it back to Google, regardless of your location sharing settings -- even if you didn't have cell service turned on and hadn't used any apps. In theory, Google or an intruder could have triangulated your approximate position using the data for multiple towers.
Google auto-detects your whereabouts to get local search results
The country codes in Google's top-level domain names don't mean anything anymore. The tech titan has moved away from relying on country-specific domains to serve up localized results on mobile web, the Google app for iOS, as well as Search and Maps for desktop. Now, your location dictates the kind of results you'll get -- you could go to google.com.au, for instance, but if you're in New Zealand, you'll still get search results tailored for your current whereabouts. You'll know the location Google recognizes by looking at the lower left-hand corner of the page, as you can see above.
WhatsApp lets users share their real-time locations
This week, messaging app WhatsApp announced a new feature that allows users to share their real-time location with family and friends. The feature is encrypted end to end to ensure users' privacy and security, and it allows you to control who can see your location and when they can see it. Live Location will be rolling out in the next few weeks on both iOS and Android.