A new application provides information about when data about the user's geographical location is collected through an app on their smartphone.
The specific application, which allows this process without making any changes to the device's operating system (rooting), becomes available in the wake of the Snowden revelations, and especially after the latest reports about the detection of users' geographical location through applications they themselves use. According to a report by MIT Technology Review, its spread may 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 to detect 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 study from Rutgers University, led by Janne Lindqvist, assistant professor. Lindqvist's team created an application that displays a banner that (visibly) notifies the user when this happens.
Specifically, Google has designed Android to block one app from collecting information about others. Lindqvist’s team used an indirect method, which “sees” when an app requests location information. As the professor points out, this has been done before, but through changes to the operating system: “no one has used an app to do this,” he says. The app in question is set to be released on Google Play within two months.
According to Lindqvist, Android phone users who used the app were surprised by how often their location was being tracked, and by which apps. The goal, he said, is to motivate Google and app developers to be more transparent, collect less data, and allow users to choose what data an app can "see.".
It is noted that in many cases information about the user's geographical location is used for advertising purposes, such as sending "targeted" advertisements.
