> "with location data switched on"
People need to realize what these two things together mean. Google believes that its anonymization strategy for device location data masks user identity. This is why they use the term "devices". It depersonalizes the information they have. De-anonymizing high-accuracy location data is easy. That means they really have location records on people. They don't technically store and index by people, that's why they can keep making carefully worded plain-English (but mark my words, it is absolutely lawyer-speak) explanations that sound innocent. But de-anonymization is just a map-reduce away, and the government knows this.
They will not open up technical details of Google Location Service (GLS) until they are forced by court order, and even then, maybe never, as it will be redacted for the public. It will be redacted because its very existence represents next-generation espionage capabilities.
Read their own documentation [1]:
> On most Android devices, Google, as the network location provider, provides a location service called Google Location Services (GLS), known in Android 9 and above as Google Location Accuracy. This service aims to provide a more accurate device location and generally improve location accuracy. Most mobile phones are equipped with GPS, which uses signals from satellites to determine a device’s location – however, with Google Location Services, additional information from nearby Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and device sensors can be collected to determine your device’s location. It does this by periodically collecting location data from your device and using it in an anonymous way to improve location accuracy.
[1] https://policies.google.com/technologies/location-data?hl=en...
They use it in an "anonymous way". Pardon my french, but horseshit! They are sucking accelerometer and WiFi data with GPS and calling that "anonymous".
When are people going to realize the technical capabilities of Google's dystopian location tracking? The US government already has. Google has built a one-stop shop for totalitarian government's location-tracking needs.
I mean, we all make mistakes and decisions we regret down the road, but even in my Maverick days I'd have given that type of work a wide berth
> Sensorvault is said to have the detailed location data on “at least hundreds of millions of devices worldwide,” collected from users’ phones when they use an Android device with location data switched on, or Google services like Google Maps and Google Photo, and even Google search results. In 2018, the Associated Press reported that Google could still collect users’ locations even when their location history is “paused.”