Do you ever feel like your Android device tracks you more often than it should? At this point, it's an open secret that smartphones track their users and use the data for personalizing ads, among other things. A 2021 study conducted at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland dives into the telemetry data that Android and iOS devices send back to the manufacturers.
According to the study, Android devices send important device information back to Google's servers every 4 minutes and 15 seconds, without the user's
consent. While most of this information includes technical data such as the device's IMEI, battery status, and more, some of it could potentially be used to determine the user's location.
If you go by Google's statement, the telemetry data is just routine information to keep their devices running in good health; however, there are other user activities that Google openly admits to tracking. Google tracks your online searches, YouTube history, Chrome usage, and the apps on your phone to serve you tailored ads. You can find out what Google ads know about you in the Ad Center. Moreover, the apps on your phone also track your activities using the very permissions you grant them while setting them up. Here's everything the higher-ups keep track of you.
Read more: 10 Must-Have Smart Home Devices For Your Outdoor Spaces
Telemetry Data Can Reveal Sensitive User Information
While sending device data every few minutes to Google can seem daunting, telemetry isn't a Google-only thing. Most devices that connect to the internet send back some telemetry data to their manufacturers. The data helps manufacturers ensure their services work as intended.
On Android, though, telemetry data is shared at an alarming rate, without your consent, and even when you haven't logged in to the device. As per the research cited above, Android smartphones transmit important device information like IMEI, SIM serial number, WiFi MAC address, cookies, and more through the operating system and system apps.
The telemetry data is sent over the internet and your local IP address can be used to determine your approximate location. Additionally, as some of the data is sent through pre-installed system apps, Google can use it to identify the user and leverage the telemetry data to further enhance their ad personalization. That said, there's very little you can do about the situation, as Google and Apple don't give users the choice to limit telemetry transmission.
Android Smartphones Track Your Online Activity
Apart from the covert telemetry, there's another type of tracking that happens almost every time you are online. Google controls a big part of that, and also tracks you with its vast suite of services. That includes whenever you search for something online, download an app, watch a video, use its location services, and browse the internet through Chrome. Google then creates a virtual user image that categorizes your topics of interest into automobiles, clothing, food, footwear, and many more detailed brackets.
I have been using Google services for close to four years with my current account, and the Ad Center shows 47 overtly-specific topics that interest me. Additionally, Google stores household income, basic educational qualifications, home ownership status, parenting status, and much more for its users.
While you can reset this information or stop personalized ads altogether, that won't solve the tracking problem. Google won't show your personalized ads, but it can still monitor your online activity through its services. That said, stopping ad personalization has other benefits, like exploring new categories of products and not being restricted by the ad algorithm.
Apps installed on your phone can track you based on the permissions you grant them. The data is then used by these apps according to their privacy policy. Some apps, especially social media platforms run their own user tracking services to personalize ads. You may find some basic options to limit app tracking, it is nearly impossible for users to stay off the radar entirely.
Additionally, hackers can also surveil you, but you can find out if someone's tracking your Android device by looking for a few signs, like unknown apps or weird messages on your smartphone.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
