Apple and Google Are Still Tracking Mobile Telemetry Data

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Mobile device-tracking is still going on despite both Apple and Google allowing users to opt out of sharing telemetry data. Both iOS and Google Android transmit telemetry, despite the user explicitly opting out of this. The research, Mobile Handset Privacy: Measuring The Data iOS and Android Send to Apple And Google, also found that Google collects 20 times more data from its Android Pixel users compared to the amount of data that Apple collects from iOS users.

The phone IMEI, hardware serial number, SIM serial number and IMSI, handset phone number etc. are shared with Apple and Google. When a SIM is inserted, both iOS and Google Android send details to Apple/Google. iOS sends the MAC addresses of nearby devices such as other handsets and the home gateway, to Apple, together with their GPS location. Currently there are few, if any, realistic options for preventing this data sharing. Google collects a larger volume of data than Apple. During the first 10 minutes of startup, the Pixel handset sends around 1MB of data to Google, compared with the iPhone sending around 42KB of data to Apple. When the handsets are sitting idle, the Pixel sends roughly 1MB of data to Google every 12 hours, compared with the iPhone sending 52KB to Apple. Google collects around 20 times more handset data than Apple.


Google responded with a statement following the release of the report:

"We identified flaws in the researcher’s methodology for measuring data volume and disagree with the paper’s claims that an Android device shares 20 times more data than an iPhone. According to our research, these findings are off by an order of magnitude, and we shared our methodology concerns with the researcher before publication.

This research largely outlines how smartphones work. Modern cars regularly send basic data about vehicle components, their safety status and service schedules to car manufacturers, and mobile phones work in very similar ways. This report details those communications, which help ensure that iOS or Android software is up to date, services are working as intended, and that the phone is secure and running efficiently."

The privacy dangers of a handset sharing this type of telemetry data are real. One danger is that Google and Apple can use data to identify a user and track purchases. Another issue is that Apple and Google could abuse users' trust and track their movements. The researcher does point out that the transmission of user data to a device-maker's backend is necessary for pushing out security updates for specific models. Collecting user data becomes problematic when it's tied to a specific user. There are things a user user can do to avoid sharing mobile data. While there are no workaround options to prevent an iPhone from sharing data with Apple, there are steps Pixel users can take to prevent some of the data sharing with Google. With Pixel, a user can choose to start up the phone with the network connection disabled. Next, before the user enables the network connection they can disable Google-specific services such as Google Play, YouTube before enabling the network connection.