Google Still Tracks You Even When You Turn Off Location

Following a lot of criticisms rained at the Google, the search giant has come out to further clear the air on how to track user’s location.

Explaining that turning off location on your device doesn’t mean your location activities won’t be tracked as there are other apps that are still encrypted to obtain some of these informations.

Now it says, “This setting does not affect other location services on your device, like Google Location Services and Find My Device. Some location data may be saved as part of your activity on other services, like Search and Maps.” The AP earlier reported the news.

Google acknowledged the change. “We have been updating the explanatory language about Location History to make it more consistent and clear across our platforms and help centers,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The change in the help page follows a report by the AP earlier this week that said Google still tracks your location even if you turn off the Location History setting. If that setting is paused, the company still tracks where you go, it just won’t record the places you’ve been in your Google Maps timeline, the report said. Users could, however, pause location tracking by turning off another setting, called Web and Apps Activity.

The backlash over Google’s location history underscores how much scrutiny tech giants are under for their data-hungry business practices. Facebook received intense criticism over its Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which 87 million Facebook users had their personal information co-opted by a UK-based digital consultancy with ties to Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign.

Google has faced controversy over its use of data with other apps too. Last month, it was reported that employees of third-party app developers could read your inbox. At the time, Google said the practices were covered by the company’s terms of service.