An update on when information about the user's geographic location is collected through an app on their smartphone provides news application.
This particular application, which allows the process in question without making any changes to the functional system device (rooting) becomes available in the wake of the revelations of the Snowden case, and in particular after the latest publications about the location of users through applications that they use. According to an article in the MIT Technology Review, its dissemination can help ordinary users understand the extent to which their personal data can be collected by applications, as even in seemingly "innocent" cases, such as games and dictionaries, it is possible the detection of the user's location via GPS.
Although a small icon indicating access to information about the user's geographic location is present in various Android interfaces, few users pay attention, as most do not know what it means, according to a Rutgers University study led by Janne Lindqvist. assistant professor. Lindqvist's team created an app that displays one banner which (obviously) informs the user when something like this happens.
In particular, Google has designed Android to block an app from gathering information about others. The Lindkist team used an indirect method, which "sees" when geographic location information is requested from an application. As the professor points out, this has been done in the past, but through changes in the functional: "no one used an application to do it," he says. This app is about to come out on Google Play within two months.
According to Lindkist, Android phone users who used the app were surprised by how often their location was tracked, and by what applications. The goal, in itself, is to encourage Google and application developers to be more transparent, to collect fewer data, and to allow users to choose what data an application can see.
It is noted that in many cases user location information is used for promotional purposes, such as sending "targeted" ads.
