NOT JUST APPLE

Android Tracks Users’ Locations, Too

Google used similar Wi-Fi collection for StreetView.

It’s not just iPhones that have been tracking your every move: Google’s Android smartphones have also been transmitting users’ locations and sending the results back to headquarters. Both Apple and Google are reportedly trying to build a massive database to pinpoint customer’s locations via their cellphones—raising concerns about privacy. Analysts say these databases could help both Apple and Google tap into the $2.9 billion market for location-based services—an amount that is expected to rise to $8.3 billion in 2014. Google was collecting similar Wi-Fi data for its StreetView cars that map and photograph streets, but the company was forced to shut down StreetView after accidentally collecting email addresses, passwords, and other personal data from the Wi-Fi networks.