Google admits tracking users on smartphones despite disabled feature
San Francisco, Aug 18: Google has updated a help page for customers of mobile phones to acknowledge that they still can be tracked for using its Search or Maps services, even if they turn off the phone's tracking feature.
In the help page for the Location History setting, Google clarified, "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," Xinhua reported.
The Google update came three days after a report of the Associated Press said that several Google apps and websites store user location even if users have turned off Location History.
The latest description of the Google help page is an apparent revision of what the US tech giant has previously stated: "With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored."
Google has been criticized for tracking users' locations, which could result from its push to make more profits from advertisers who could target more easily a certain group of users with the Google tracking data.
Google's previous statement about Location History could be misleading for users who turned off the tracking feature to show they did not want to be tracked, while the users were not aware that they were still tracked for their movements and locations via other Google services, such as Google Search, Maps, weather updates or browser searches.
Google offers users ways to keep their movements or locations private by disabling the "Web and App Activity" option on their mobile devices.
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RJD surprise element in J’khand polls, party candidates leading in 5 of 6 assembly seats
Ranchi(PTI): The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has emerged as a surprise element in the Jharkhand assembly elections with its candidates leading in five of the six seats where the party is contesting, according to trends available on the Election Commission's website on Saturday.
RJD candidates in five assembly seats were leading over sitting BJP legislators.
In 2019, RJD had secured only the Chatra seat where its nominee Satyanand Bhokta won.
In Deoghar, RJD’s Suresh Paswan was leading by 19,581 votes over his nearest rival and BJP's sitting MLA Narayan Das after the third round of counting.
RJD’s Sanjay Prasad Yadav was ahead by 19,867 votes in Godda over BJP MLA Amit Kumar Mandal after the sixth round of counting.
In Koderma, RJD nominee Subhash Prasad Yadav, who was out on bail, was leading by a margin of 3,471 votes over BJP’s sitting legislator Neera Yadav.
Subhas Prasad Yadav, considered to be one of the close aides of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case.
Party’s Naresh Prasad Singh was leading by 5,159 votes after the fourth round of counting over BJP’s Bishrampur MLA Ramchandra Chandravanshi.
RJD's Sanjay Kumar Singh Yadav was also leading from Hussainabad by 8,213 votes after the fourth round of counting over BJP MLA Kamlesh Kumar Singh.
Party’s candidate Rashmi Prakash, however, was trailing from Chatra by 3,776 votes.
Bhokta did not contest the elections this time, and his daughter-in-law Prakash was given a ticket.
