Google is putting new restrictions on Android apps that can track your location in the background, with a new review process that will check whether an app really needs access to the data. The changes were announced in a blog post to Android developers earlier this week. Google says that starting August 3, all new apps on Google Play that request location access in the background will have to undergo a review, with the review expected to expand to all existing apps on November 3.
Even though location tracking is a fundamental feature for many apps and services, it can be quite invasive when apps request unrestricted access. History tracking is even worse, because it means you may not fully know which apps on your phone are monitoring you at any given time. The new review process will force apps to justify why they need to use the feature and allow them to limit their tracking.
Google says this review process will look at whether an app’s core functionality truly justifies this background location access. A social media app that lets users choose to continuously share their location with friends would be fine, Google says. However, it would be harder to justify this in a store locator app, as this would work just as well if it only accessed location while the app was in use. Clearly informing the user will help an app’s chances of being approved, Google adds.
The changes were announced as part of a broader crackdown on location tracking in Android 11, which follows in the footsteps of iOS 13. Apple’s operating system also offers reminders that apps are tracking your location in the background. However, those policies apparently don’t apply to some of Apple like Find My, in a move that has been criticized by some developers.
Instead, Google says its policies will apply to its own apps, which is reassuring given the company’s less-than-perfect approach to location tracking in the past. Back in 2018, the Associated Press found that turning off Google’s Location History setting wouldn’t stop location tracking because an additional Web & App Activity setting would continue to track you. In response, last year, Google introduced a new feature to let you automatically delete your location data after a certain amount of time.
The announcement also tells developers that they are responsible for the third-party SDKs and libraries they use in apps . Last year, a study found that some apps were using these SDKs to track users, even when users had opted not to have their location tracked.
Although the review process isn't set to officially begin until August, Google says developers can request feedback starting in May to see if their apps can justify tracking users' locations.
