New findings by the Electronic Frontier Foundation have found some problems with location sharing. They aim to warn app developers that some of the third-party code they place in theri apps may also collect their users’ location data.
Users are used to giving precise location permission at this point. It is needed by many apps, such as weather apps, for example. Well, unless you don’t want to set your location manually, but that’s an entirely different story.
Your location data is being shared without you knowing about it
If app developers are not careful, though, your location data could end up in unwanted hands. The Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that unless developers actively switch off the collection, the code snippet (SDK) will inherit the app’s permissions and collect the user’s precise location data.
It is stated that many app developers were unaware that they’re sharing their users’ location data with third parties by default. Needless to say, that data could end up where you don’t want it to end up.
Location histories can get in the hands of brokers, who monetize the info. Consequently, the information gets sold to governments, militaries, and intelligence agencies.
Some of the apps EFF spotted have tons of downloads
EFF identified a bunch of Android apps that have been doing this. Amongst them, two have been downloaded a combined 60 million times to date. Just to give you an idea of how popular some of these apps are.
EFF also notes that there are “no SDK-specific location permissions”. That means that once the user allowed their location to be shared with the app, the location data becomes available to advertisers.
“App-level location permissions alone cannot signal meaningful consent to location collection and sharing by third-party advertising SDKs,” said EFF. It was also added: “Advertising SDKs should not make sharing personal data the default, especially for data as sensitive as a person’s location.”
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