Some Android phones are secretly sending a stream of location data back to Google, according to security experts, fueling the debate on mobile privacy.
Kamkar found that location data was not anonymous, as Google has said, but rather contained a unique identifier tied to the user's phone.
Google uses the data to build its database about Wi-Fi router locations, which is then used to get location fixes by other Android phones. It also uses the information for adding traffic data to Google Maps.
Those apps are innocuous enough, but given Google's core business of targeted advertising, questions have been raised whether the search giant is systematically keeping tabs on users.
The news comes a day after researcheres found that Apple's iPhone and iPad devices maintain a running log of locations that stretch for months.
The discoveries fuel government and consumer suspicion that companies aren't properly safeguarding users' privacy, which could lead to demands for transparency on the part of companies as well as more rigorous legal restrictions.
A federal investigation into app companies' data handling was launched after reports showed serveral mobile apps shared user data, including location, with marketing companies. A number of makers of popular apps have reportedly been subpoenaed in connection with that investigation.
A Nielson report today revealed growing consumer awareness of and concern about mobile privacy issues, with more than half of respondents saying they were concerned about sharing their location information.
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