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Google Contacts integrates real-time location sharing from Google Maps
Find your friends easily without leaving the Contacts app
Google has always strived to ensure that its apps on Android devices work in conjunction with each other. It’s a fine line to walk, because Google doesn’t want to make some of its apps obsolete by integrating features across users’ libraries. However, when Google walks that line perfectly, it fills a hole that no one really noticed in the first place. We noticed back in May that Google Contacts could integrate Google Maps’ location sharing ability in a future revamp. That seems to have officially rolled out.
Google Maps is ditching cloud-based location history for a more private solution
Your location history will be stored locally on your device going forward, but you can still opt for an end-to-end-encrypted backup
It's no secret that Google Maps keeps tabs on your every move with its Timeline feature, which logs all your pit stops and the routes you take. As long as you're signed in to your Google account with Location History enabled (it's off by default), Google collects all this juicy information and secures it in the cloud, promising it's encrypted. But if you're the paranoid type, the company will soon give you the option to stash your trips directly on your device.
The location tracking services on Android phones help us do things like look up businesses and figure out where we need to go. They also have a habit of keeping an eye on our moves without our consent. This has prompted many privacy-conscious users to demand a more discreet user experience from Google while using their favorite Android devices. The latest Android 13 update, dubbed Android 13.1, has made it easier to customize your privacy to your needs. Here are the steps to take to turn off location tracking to go off the smartphone grid so that you'll have a better sense of security.
Google Maps knows the fastest route to almost anywhere on Earth. But what if you have more than one place to visit? Perhaps you're a delivery driver who must cover several locations on a single ride. Organizing your road trips with multiple stops in Google Maps can help you save time and energy. So, instead of choosing a new destination at every stop, the app automatically reroutes to your next destination.
How to hack a GPS into your DSLR camera using Google Photos
Make sure your camera's clock is set correctly, though
It's almost shocking the extent to which smartphones have replaced dedicated cameras in many of our lives. Between the advanced optics, next-level image processing, and being able to share pics with just a couple taps, who would ever dream about lugging around an old-fashioned point-and-shoot digicam? But for as far we've come, there's still a lot of appeal in larger, more flexible cameras, with their big sensors and interchangeable lenses. As it turns out, you can use your phone to bring a little bit of extra smarts to even a dumb DSLR, helping to modernize your Google Photos pics with GPS info.
Court documents show Google intentionally hid privacy controls
And told phone makers to hide them, and collected location data from alternate sources, and just all kinds of bad stuff
Last year, Arizona's attorney general sued Google for illegally collecting location data from Android users, even after they had opted out of said data collection. According to recently released evidence and testimony from Google employees, the company intentionally made it difficult (and in some cases impossible) for users to find or understand the options to turn off location tracking. Beyond that, the evidence indicates that Google continued to collect location data via other means, associating it with users to achieve the same level of accuracy.
Microsoft's Family Safety is now available on Android and iOS
Keep track of family members, no matter what platform they're using
Microsoft announced last month that its new Microsoft 365 subscription service (formerly Office 365) would offer some family-oriented features, like a new 'Family Safety' app that combines screen time data across multiple platforms and provides tracking information. Following two months of a public beta program, Microsoft has today shared that the app is going stable.
Google Photos is already extremely good at searching through your old snapshots—you can search for objects, people, and even locations to find photos. Google is apparently testing a more visual way to find your photos based on location called "Explore map." a few lucky users already have it, and others have managed to get the map by poking at the APK.
Play Store app policy changes go after misleading subscriptions, prep for Android 11 location permissions
Protecting your wallet and your privacy
The Play Store has a problem with sleazy apps that overcharge customers for basic functionality via subscriptions. A lot of people often don't even realize that they're signing up for expensive plans due to apps highlighting free trials, conveniently concealing that they automatically turn into paid subscriptions. To combat these frauds, Google will instate new Play Store policies that force developers to disclose exactly how much and what for they're charging starting June 16 while the company will also send out emails warning customers before trials turn into paid subscriptions. The updated policies additionally prepare a change for location permissions in Android 11 — developers have to get approval from Google before they're allowed to access background location.
Israel will use phone location data to identify and quarantine people exposed to COVID-19
The government expects "very large" numbers of people to be quarantined
Israel is gearing up for a new offensive in the fight against coronavirus, and it involves the unprecedented use of mobile phone location data. The country's cabinet passed the emergency law during an overnight session, allowing the government to use location data to find out where people with coronavirus have been and with whom they might have come into contact.
FCC reportedly fining AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon at least $200 million for selling location data
Real-time data was brokered to car dealers and bounty hunters
The nation's big four carriers felt free to broker their customers' cellphone location data to third parties for years in order to make an easy secondhand buck off of the people who already pay them to deliver expensive wireless internet to their expensive devices. Turns out that the FCC isn't happy with their behavior and, according to Reuters's sources, may be prepared to levy an eight-digit fine against the networks.
Many people take legal residences and their significance for granted, but in a lot of places around the world, some individuals don't have or use proper addresses. This makes it hard to access banking and emergency services, let alone receive mail. In a blog post dedicated to Google Maps' 15th birthday today, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has shared his vision on how these people may someday be able to use the company's open-source plus codes as an alternative.
There's nothing worse than watching your favorite show and having it pause to buffer at the most intriguing moment. Unfortunately, commuters can experience this quite often, but Netflix is trying an unusual way to solve this issue. Indeed, the company is testing how it can improve video quality while a viewer is on the go by tracking their "physical activity."
Android Q already introduced a new feature that allows users to restrict an app's access to location data so it is only available while the app is in the foreground. Along with this change, a new screen was also added to Settings that gives users far more visibility of current settings and which apps have recently used this access to get your position. A new aspect of these enhancements was introduced during the Google I/O keynote that will give reminders to users when an app is accessing location while sitting in the background.
Facebook has definitely earned its sour reputation, but the company has been scrambling in the last few months to try to regain some of its users' trust. Today, it announced some new location control settings for Android (and iOS), an update which aims to give people more control over just how much information they share with the social network.
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Google's location-tracking practices endured a new wave of scrutiny at the start of this week thanks to an investigation by The Associated Press, which put some meat on the bones of suspicion many users have harbored for a while now. By week's end, Google updated some language on the help page for its Location History setting, though its tracking policies remain largely unintelligible for the everyday consumer. And to be clear, the company has not changed anything about how it actually tracks the location of its users.
Gathering location data just became trickier for authorities. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that accessing a suspect's cell phone location history should require a warrant. The decision came at the end of Carpenter v. United States, the first case about location data the Supreme Court has ruled on.
News broke earlier this year that several firms with access to carrier location data were providing access to it with little or no safeguards. In fact, you could access the some of these tools to track a phone as a demo of the service. AT&T and Verizon now say they will stop selling data to these third-party brokers. That does not mean, however, they won't sell your location data at all.
Google Photos is a great product for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its superb search function that allows you do find shots based on what's in them, when they were taken, or even where they were taken. Some pictures, though, don't have location data. Now, Google Photos is rolling out the ability to add or edit photo locations manually from its web interface.
Inbox is losing the ability to remind users of emails at specified locations (and unspecified times). According to a Google Product Forums thread, the "pick place" and "someday" snooze options are being retired.