A few days in the past, Cybernews printed a report that claimed that the Pixel 9 Professional XL shares private data with Google each quarter-hour, earlier than even establishing the system. This contains your location, your electronic mail handle and telephone quantity, app checklist and different telemetry.
Nonetheless, the builders behind the privacy-focused Android fork known as GrapheneOS level out that this isn’t distinctive to the Pixel 9 Professional XL – it’s customary Android habits. And never simply that, they level out that iOS collects just about the identical data.
There is a extremely inaccurate article about Pixels from Cybernews making the rounds in every single place in privateness communities. It will get the small print practically fully mistaken and totally misrepresents issues just like the non-obligatory network-based location used practically in every single place as Pixel particular.
— GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS) October 9, 2024
Any non-Pixel system with the usual Google Play integration has comparable Google service integration doing the identical issues. You do not keep away from it in any respect by utilizing a non-Pixel, however you do find yourself with a tool that is far much less safe and provides OEM providers with their very own privateness points.
— GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS) October 9, 2024
It goes by connections for the Google Play network-based location that is providing as an possibility in the course of the preliminary setup wizard, the non-obligatory Google Play account-based system administration, Google Play characteristic flags, Google Play telemetry, and many others. It will get numerous particulars mistaken.
— GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS) October 9, 2024
iOS has direct equivalents to every part that is lined.
If what folks take from the article is that they need to use a non-Pixel Android system with Google Play, they’re going to have a dramatically much less safe system with the identical privateness points and extra ones from OEM providers.
— GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS) October 9, 2024
Cybernews had reached out to Google earlier than publishing the report and this was the response from Mountain View:
“User security and privacy are top priorities for Pixel. You can manage data sharing, app permissions and more during device setup and in your settings. This report lacks crucial context, misinterprets technical details and doesn’t fully explain that data transmissions are needed for legitimate services on all mobile devices regardless of the manufacturer, model or OS, such as software updates, on-demand features and personalized experiences,” a Google spokesperson stated.
Moreover, Google has been making modifications to make Android extra personal. Late final yr, it introduced that it will likely be shifting the Your Timeline characteristic (an in depth monitor together with your location historical past) in your system. Beforehand, it was saved within the cloud.
In the event you haven’t already, you’ll quickly obtain an electronic mail asking you to alter your settings – you may transfer location historical past on system or change on the auto-delete possibility (which robotically wipes the information in 3 or 18 months, relying on choice).
Timeline information is now saved in your system
You’ll be able to be taught extra about what information is collected by Google and why on this web page concerning the Google Play Companies.
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