Google Update on The Android Apps that Tracks Your Location in The Background

Regarding the change of Android that implemented on the next android 11, Google will change their security and privacy settings. Google is going to place a new restriction on what Android apps that can track your location in the background.

It will review the process and check if the app really needs to access the data. This update is announced in a blog post to android developers earlier this week, and it will probably come to your device on August 3rd for all the new apps and November 3rd for all existing apps.

Users will get one-time permission for a location as well as the use of microphones, and cameras. It means that the app will need your permission the next time you open the app again. If you tap deny on any specific permission, during the lifetime of an app’s installation on a device, they will not ask again and you won’t ever be nagged from that point on.

If you want to change your mind, you will need to go into the settings and do it manually or reinstall the app. The Google Play System Updates (Nee Project Mainline) introduced in Android 10 have been expanded to add 12 new updatable modules, including a permissions module that standardizes user and developer access to critical privacy controls.

Although location tracking is an essential feature for many apps and services, it can be invasive when apps indiscriminately ask for location access. Especially when an app is using background tracking, mainly because you might be completely unaware of which apps on your phone that are tracking you.

The new review process will force apps to confirm why they need to use the location tracking feature and have them not use it when they can’t especially in the background.

But for a social networking app that let users opt in to continue sharing their location with their friends is okay. Google also says that its policies will apply to its own apps which are reassuring given that the company has a little bit problem with location tracking in the past. Back in 2018,a media found that turning off Google Location History setting wouldn’t stop all location tracking because of an additional web and app activity setting that would continue to track you.

If you are interested in the official post and wanted to learn more, you can read the android developer blog here. However, the change isn’t due to officially start until August.

Source: TheVerge

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