Google Still Tracking Users Who Turn Off Location History

I suspected as much for a long time...

I have the Weather app and Location disabled on my Android cell phone, but every time I look at what's using WiFi, mobile data, battery, memory and storage, the weather app is always right up there at the top with the apps I actually use. Makes me wonder what else Weather is doing.  

And just generically turning off Location in Android doesn't mean some apps don't have their own location permission setting that needs to be disabled too.

Another thing I noticed is that whenever certain Android apps get updated, you have to check their permissions again. Some app updates take back all the permissions I previously disallowed for that app.

Big Brother knows everything...

An ironic personal twist to this tale today for me.

I'm not much interested or educated in smartphones/gadgets/games/apps. But I need one for my work. By coincidence my 4 year old Blackberry died suddenly today, and needed to be replaced immediately. Under time pressure, I was unable to research what is out there, and figured I would best go with the latest Blackberry model for its familiar keyboard and security/privacy reputation.

Only after the purchase was made,the phone activated, and basic settings configured by the sales agent did I learn that this was an Android/Google phone! Had I had time to research,this was the absolute last phone I would have purchased. 

The only way to mitigate this blunder was to disable  the Location in Maps. There is no need to worry about other apps tracking you  as long as you don't create an account with Google or Gmail. Of course this disables a lot of Google-associated apps that want to track your activity. I can live with that. All I need is a phone with bluetooth and texting.

Google is indeed evil.

Welcome to the 20th century! :Stickouttongue:

Your only other choices would have been an iPhone or a Windows phone. So it really depends on who you trust more or less. :Wink:

Is Android on the Blackberry even going to let you use it without signing up for a Google (gmail) account?

Don't know what version or how Android is implemented on Blackberry, but if you look at Settings>Apps and then select individual apps that either came pre-installed or you installed, you'll see many of them have permission to do everything on your phone, eg, read contact lists, phone call lists, read text messages, check your location, use camera, use microphone, even change system settings, etc etc. So you probably want to disallow a lot of those permissions.

Android and/or some apps may object when you disallow permissions, but ignore the protests. I ended up removing Adobe Reader from my phone because it gave itself permission to do everything and when I disallowed it, it just took the permissions back. Why does a pdf reader need to use a phone's camera and microphone...hmmmm?

Thanks for that info Ron. I give android a bit of credit for their system of allowing one to disable permissions.

Indeed this Blackberry Key2 does work well for all my needs with no Google/Gmail accounts created. And the phone itself has some attractive design features (privacy is not one of them, obviously). I would have missed the real keyboard with the alternates.

I went through all the app's permissions,and disabled a truckload, despite the dire warnings. So far, no noticeable ill effects. Google Maps still works, but did not default to my local area. Chrome browser still works,though I rarely need to access the internet from my phone. I have no need for a PDF reader on my phone - nothing is that urgent to view, that can't wait for me to get to  my PC.

I probably have disabled any GPS functions, but I only need that when I'm driving and it is already built in to my car's navigation. The camera functions work well, without GPS location meta-data.

This phone does come with a seurity app, called Dtek by Blackberry. You can read about it here:
http://help.blackberry.com/en/dtek-by-blackberry/latest/help/lym1430851802906.html

When I scanned my phone with Dtek, it flagged the fact that I had no Google account as a security risk, as a Google account is required for a factory reset protection. I can live with that risk of data loss. Otherwise Dtek seems like a reasonable security app.

I'm not a power user of smart phones, and doubt I will miss any apps I may have disabled. I'm fairly satisfied I have mitigated the privacy concerns I have with Android/Google/Chrome.

Glad to help...

Don't know if Google will let you get updates for your apps from their store if you don't have a Google account.

And if you do update an app, be sure to check that app's permissions again because -in my experience- many updates grab back all the permissions you previously denied to that app. It's like playing cat/mouse and whack-a-mole, all at the same time.