- Google collects location history on Android devices, and that data can be accessed by law enforcement agencies with the help of so-called “geofence warrants”.
- That’s what happened to an Android user who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, which was enough for police to consider him the prime suspect in a burglary in the neighborhood where he’s been biking for months.
- He was eventually cleared, but that involved having a lawyer contest the warrant in court and ensure the police were convinced he wasn’t the perpetrator.
- Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.
Google collects a treasure trove of information about all Google services users to serve better ads. Many appreciate the trade-off. In return for personal data that can be monetized with online ads, they get excellent Google services that work more effectively the more Google learns about your life. Google Assistant is one such example. Maps is another service that’s directly dependent on Google’s ability to collect data.
But it turns out that Google’s oft-criticized data collection policies have an unexpected side effect: Location history data might just turn you into the prime suspect for a crime you didn’t commit.
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Google location data turns innocent cyclist into burglary suspect originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 9 Mar 2020 at 18:37:05 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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