Android data collection: Difference between revisions

|Description=Google & Android phone's alike deliberately collect user information, even when they choose to opt-out.

This article addresses the manner in which Android phones share personal user information with [[Google]], usually in a complete user unaware and unapproved way, and the legal consequences Google has endured for deceptive practices in users' location tracking.

'''[[Android]]''', the global top mobile operating system,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mobile Operating System Market Share Worldwide |url=https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/kSdCi |archive-date=4 Dec 2025 |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[StatCounter]]}}</ref> is used to power billions of devices globally. Tests have shown that Android phones with [[Google Mobile Services|Google services]] transmit user data to Google on multiple occasions even when users try to restrict sharing of data via settings. This has encouraged increasing alarm over user privacy, transparency, and personal data control.

A study found that data collection happens without any chance to opt out even before the user has even opened their first app.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Connor |date=4 Mar 2025 |title=How Google tracks Android device users before they've even opened an app |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/04/google_android/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/vVvzw |archive-date=4 Mar 2025 |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=The Register}}</ref>  

Moreover, most phone vendors do their own tracking on top and pre-install so-called [[bloatware]] in exchange for payment from the respective company, such as social media and shopping apps (Facebook, TikTok, Aliexpress, eBay, …), which transmit data in the background without user consent even if the apps are never even opened and the user never agreed to their TOS.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trinity College Dublin |date=October 11, 2021 |title=Study reveals scale of data-sharing from Android mobile phones |url=https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-reveals-scale-data-sharing-android-mobile.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/CX9RV |archive-date=12 Oct 2021 |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=TechXplore}}</ref>

A research examined the frequency of data sharing between Google and Android phones with Google services.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Leith |first=Douglas J. |date=25 Mar 2021 |title=Mobile Handset Privacy: Measuring The Data iOS and Android Send to Apple And Google |url=https://www.scss.tcd.ie/doug.leith/apple_google.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/2ycdM |archive-date=6 Oct 2021 |access-date=15 Mar 2025}}</ref> The research showed that even if an Android phone is set to minimal setting and left on its own, it shares data with Google on average every 4.5 minutes. The shared data includes sensitive information like:

 

Data exchanged with Google by Google Messages and Google Dialer applications on an Android smartphone was also researched.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leith |first=Douglas J. |date=28 Feb 2022 |title=What Data Do The Google Dialer and Messages Apps On Android Send to Google? |url=https://www.scss.tcd.ie/doug.leith/privacyofdialerandsmsapps.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/gtRKo |archive-date=14 Mar 2022 |access-date=15 Mar 2025}}</ref> These applications report to Google whenever messages are being sent/received or calls are being received/made. Precisely:

For this, Google was sued in the United States<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gatlan |first=Sergiu |date=14 Nov 2022 |title=Google will pay $391M to settle Android location tracking lawsuit |url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-will-pay-391m-to-settle-android-location-tracking-lawsuit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/riwh9 |archive-date=15 Nov 2022 |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[BleepingComputer]]}}</ref> and in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Aug 2022 |title=Google LLC to pay $60 million for misleading representations |url=https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/google-llc-to-pay-60-million-for-misleading-representations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/Jn1fd |archive-date=17 Aug 2022 |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[ACCC]]}}</ref>

Not many alternatives are available to users for completely avoiding this data sharing. Attempts to disable data collection via settings, Android integration with Google services does make it impossible to fully discontinue the passing on of person and device details.<ref name=":0" />

Perhaps the only Google -free alternate configuration comprises of MicroG applications, which is an open source reimplementation of Google services. It provides necessary dependencies so that most of the applications which depend on Google services can function on a device without those Google services.

As for application distribution, few alternate channels, such as F-droid and Aurora Store exists.  

[https://murena.com/ Murena], Fairphone and [https://iode.tech/ Iodé] sells devices pre-installed with de-googled Android based on LineageOS and MicroG, making privacy friendly Android phones accessible to non-technical users. However, the operating system called /e/ on Murena devices has a history of not always addressing security vulnerabilities in a timely manner<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duval |first=Gael |date=Sep 2023 |title=Some clarification regarding security vs privacy in /e/OS |url=https://community.e.foundation/t/some-clarification-regarding-security-vs-privacy-in-e-os/51839 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/APVqP |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[e]]}}</ref>. However the situation is still much better than the millions of phones in active use that no longer get manufacturer support.