Quartz recently conducted an investigation that revealed some new unsettling information about Android devices that concerns privacy. It was discovered that Google collects location data from cell towers even if you have disabled locations services on your smartphone. 

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The data was being shared even after the devices were reset to factory default settings. “Android devices with a cellular data or a wi-fi connection were seen to send the data to Google each time they came within range of a new cell tower — including devices with no SIM cards installed (these offloaded the location data via wi-fi, where available)” the report said. 

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Currently, there is no way for Android users to prevent their location data to be shared with Google unless you remove the SIM card and disconnect your Android smartphone from Wi-Fi. A Google spokesperson pointed out that location data was never used or stored by Google and the company intends to end the practice by the end of November 2017. The company spokesperson said, “In January of this year, we began looking into using Cell ID codes as an additional signal to further improve the speed and performance of message delivery. However, we never incorporated Cell ID into our network sync system, so that data was immediately discarded, and we updated it to no longer request Cell ID.”

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These findings have been a bit worrying especially if you are the kind of person who doesn't like to be tracked. Even though Google is looking to end the practice, this may create a sense of distrust amongst loyal Android users. In a world with an increasing shift toward a society that lives online, this practice by Google gives us nightmares. Google literally knows where you are, at all times! 

To know more about how Google collects your location data, we suggest you read the full report here. 

Source: Quartz