Google bans monitoring device that bought customers’ location information

Google has banned an organization that bought Android customers’ location information for COVID-19 mapping and different functions, Motherboard reports. SafeGraph was one in all a number of corporations that collected geolocation information by way of plug-ins in different Android apps, then aggregated it for organizations including The New York Times and Centers for Disease Control.

According to Motherboard, Google informed builders in June that they needed to take away SafeGraph’s software program improvement equipment inside seven days. Motherboard says it’s not clear whether or not SafeGraph continues to be amassing any information from Android apps, and The Verge has reached out to Google and SafeGraph to substantiate.

SafeGraph’s ban follows an earlier crackdown on location-collecting apps. In December 2020, Google and Apple banned an identical service known as X-Mode Social, which reportedly worked with the US military amongst different clients. Apple didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon its coverage round SafeGraph.

SafeGraph information is meant to be anonymized, however as Motherboard discusses, location datasets can typically reveal particulars about people regardless of these safeguards. And though customers should approve location-gathering by particular person apps, many aren’t conscious of how their data is getting used.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), a frequent critic of location-gathering apps (and sponsor of a invoice that may prohibit their use by regulation enforcement) provided each reward and criticism of the transfer to ban the service. “This is the right move by Google, but they and Apple need to do more than play whack-a-mole with apps that sell Americans’ location information. These companies need a real plan to protect users’ privacy and safety from these malicious apps,” he mentioned in a press release to The Verge.