Google Says It Collects Location Data on Phones for Location Services

Google said Friday that it collected location data from Android phones, but that it did so anonymously and with user consent. The company said it gathered the data to provide services like maps and searches for shops or restaurants near a person’s location. The company said it also used the information to estimate traffic on various roads.”Phones know where you are, and they need to for many of the services we offer,” said Mike Nelson, a Google spokesman.To read this report in The New York Times in full, see:
bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/google-says-it-collects-location-data-on-phones-for-location-services/Also see:Google Defends Way It Gets Phone Data
Amid rising scrutiny of their practices, Google Inc. defended the way it collects location data from Android phones, while Apple Inc. remained silent for a third day.The companies’ smartphones regularly transmit locations back to Google and Apple servers, respectively, according to data and documents analyzed by The Wall Street Journal.
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703387904576279451001593760.htmlApple does not track you but the police may
A privacy storm has blown up over the revelation (if that is the right word) that iPhones and 3G iPads keeps data on the movements of their owners, which is backed up to personal computers when the devices are synchronised.Al Franken, the Minnesota senator, has already complained about this fact, pointing out that:
blogs.ft.com/businessblog/2011/04/apple-does-not-track-you-but-the-police-may/