MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA — Google has been collecting location data on Android phones, even when the location services are disabled, according to Quartz. <br /> <br />This means Google can access users' locations and their movements well beyond consumer privacy norms. <br />After being contacted by Quartz, Google said cell tower addresses have been included in information sent to a system that manages push notifications and messages on Android phones for the past 11 months. <br />According to a Google spokesperson, the data was not used or stored, and that the company was taking steps to stop the practice by the end of November. <br />With user location data, cell towers could be used to triangulate location to around a quarter-mile radius, and even closer in urban areas where cell towers are closer together. <br /> <br />Even though the information is encrypted when it is sent back to Google, a third party could still compromise the system. <br /> <br />Since January, all Android devices, even with location services disabled, were sending cell-tower addresses to Google. <br /> <br />Devices with cellular data or WiFi connection appeared to send data each time they were in range of a new cell tower. <br /> <br />Android devices without a SIM card, but connected to a WiFi network, would still send tower addresses to Google.
