Re:Google’s become an obsessive stalker
by dredmorbius on Wednesday September 14, 2016 @12:08PM
(#12498367)
I've disabled GPS on my Android device, but there is no way to turn off all location tracking on a cell-based device. Google may still have a strong indication of location information based on IP data and cell tower geocoding databases, particularly in conjunction with known WiFi location maps.
But on the other side: you cannot turn off requests for location information to be requested repeatedly on browsers or devices. Firefox (my primary mobile browser) surfaces dialogs for this information repeatedly. Every last fucking update of Google Maps, until I deleted and disabled the application in frustration, demanded location information.
So you'll still be bombarded with requests, and you've only got to fuck up once for the direct link to be re-enabled.
And despite that, you can be tracked to within a fraction of a km, and often to within meters, by other means.
But on the other side: you cannot turn off requests for location information to be requested repeatedly on browsers or devices. Firefox (my primary mobile browser) surfaces dialogs for this information repeatedly. Every last fucking update of Google Maps, until I deleted and disabled the application in frustration, demanded location information.
So you'll still be bombarded with requests, and you've only got to fuck up once for the direct link to be re-enabled.
And despite that, you can be tracked to within a fraction of a km, and often to within meters, by other means.