Google Location Tracking Lambasted in Arizona Lawsuit

The lawsuit, filed against Google by Arizona’s Attorney General, alleges that the tech giant uses “deceptive and unfair conduct” to obtain users’ location data.

Google has been hit by a lawsuit alleging that it violates user privacy by collecting location data via various means – and claiming that Google makes it nearly “impossible” for users to opt out of such data tracking.

The lawsuit, filed by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, alleges that Google uses “deceptive and unfair conduct” to obtain Android users’ location data via various applications, services and technologies, which is then used for advertising purposes. The alleged data collection would violate the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, a set of laws that give protections to consumers in various transactions related to the sale or advertisement of merchandise.

“Google has engaged in these deceptive and unfair acts and practices with the purpose of enhancing its ability to collect and profit from user-location information,” according to the 50-page complaint, which was filed Wednesday in the Maricopa County Superior Court. “And profited it has, to the tune of over $134 billion in advertising revenue in 2019 alone. On information and belief, hundreds of millions of dollars of these advertising revenues were generated from ads presented to millions of users in the State of Arizona.”

Public consternation around Google’s data-collection policies was first set off by a 2018 Associated Press report, which claimed that Google services that are prevalent on both Android and iOS phones all store location data. The report alleged that Google would track users’ data even when they opt out of Google’s Location History feature, which collects data in order to personalize Google Maps.

This most recent lawsuit claims that Google’s alleged deceptive tactics extend beyond the issues with Location History highlighted by AP’s report. The redacted, public complaint claims that Google uses other means to bring in location data – including via Wi-Fi scanning and connectivity, diagnostic data and information from Google apps in “recent versions of Android.” This makes it impractical – and even impossible – for users to opt out of location tracking, the lawsuit alleges.

“Given the lucrative nature of Google’s advertising business, the company goes to great lengths to collect users’ location, including through presenting users with a misleading mess of settings, some of which seemingly have nothing to do with the collection of location information,” said the lawsuit.

According to Brnovich, these claims are based on both testimony from Google employees “given under oath” and from internal documents that were obtained from Google over the course of a nearly two-year investigation.

Google, for its part, argued against the claims and told Threatpost that it looks forward “to setting the record straight.”

#mobile security #privacy #android #arizona attorney general #data privacy #google #google lawsuit #location data #location data privacy #location history #mobile privacy

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Google Location Tracking Lambasted in Arizona Lawsuit

The lawsuit, filed against Google by Arizona’s Attorney General, alleges that the tech giant uses “deceptive and unfair conduct” to obtain users’ location data.

Google has been hit by a lawsuit alleging that it violates user privacy by collecting location data via various means – and claiming that Google makes it nearly “impossible” for users to opt out of such data tracking.

The lawsuit, filed by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, alleges that Google uses “deceptive and unfair conduct” to obtain Android users’ location data via various applications, services and technologies, which is then used for advertising purposes. The alleged data collection would violate the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, a set of laws that give protections to consumers in various transactions related to the sale or advertisement of merchandise.

“Google has engaged in these deceptive and unfair acts and practices with the purpose of enhancing its ability to collect and profit from user-location information,” according to the 50-page complaint, which was filed Wednesday in the Maricopa County Superior Court. “And profited it has, to the tune of over $134 billion in advertising revenue in 2019 alone. On information and belief, hundreds of millions of dollars of these advertising revenues were generated from ads presented to millions of users in the State of Arizona.”

Public consternation around Google’s data-collection policies was first set off by a 2018 Associated Press report, which claimed that Google services that are prevalent on both Android and iOS phones all store location data. The report alleged that Google would track users’ data even when they opt out of Google’s Location History feature, which collects data in order to personalize Google Maps.

This most recent lawsuit claims that Google’s alleged deceptive tactics extend beyond the issues with Location History highlighted by AP’s report. The redacted, public complaint claims that Google uses other means to bring in location data – including via Wi-Fi scanning and connectivity, diagnostic data and information from Google apps in “recent versions of Android.” This makes it impractical – and even impossible – for users to opt out of location tracking, the lawsuit alleges.

“Given the lucrative nature of Google’s advertising business, the company goes to great lengths to collect users’ location, including through presenting users with a misleading mess of settings, some of which seemingly have nothing to do with the collection of location information,” said the lawsuit.

According to Brnovich, these claims are based on both testimony from Google employees “given under oath” and from internal documents that were obtained from Google over the course of a nearly two-year investigation.

Google, for its part, argued against the claims and told Threatpost that it looks forward “to setting the record straight.”

#mobile security #privacy #android #arizona attorney general #data privacy #google #google lawsuit #location data #location data privacy #location history #mobile privacy

Google's TPU's being primed for the Quantum Jump

The liquid-cooled Tensor Processing Units, built to slot into server racks, can deliver up to 100 petaflops of compute.

The liquid-cooled Tensor Processing Units, built to slot into server racks, can deliver up to 100 petaflops of compute.

As the world is gearing towards more automation and AI, the need for quantum computing has also grown exponentially. Quantum computing lies at the intersection of quantum physics and high-end computer technology, and in more than one way, hold the key to our AI-driven future.

Quantum computing requires state-of-the-art tools to perform high-end computing. This is where TPUs come in handy. TPUs or Tensor Processing Units are custom-built ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) to execute machine learning tasks efficiently. TPUs are specific hardware developed by Google for neural network machine learning, specially customised to Google’s Machine Learning software, Tensorflow.

The liquid-cooled Tensor Processing units, built to slot into server racks, can deliver up to 100 petaflops of compute. It powers Google products like Google Search, Gmail, Google Photos and Google Cloud AI APIs.

#opinions #alphabet #asics #floq #google #google alphabet #google quantum computing #google tensorflow #google tensorflow quantum #google tpu #google tpus #machine learning #quantum computer #quantum computing #quantum computing programming #quantum leap #sandbox #secret development #tensorflow #tpu #tpus

Google Maps Location Sharing Not Updating

In this blog post, I will discuss how to fix google maps location sharing not updating or not working and also will unable to refresh Google maps sharing location issues. By using Google location sharing features you can choose who can find your current location for what length of time. It is important to show the updated location that you can share with your family or friends so that they can receive you or show you the right path to access at your right location simply.

• You may also like How to get current location in Google Maps

Why is Google Maps Location Sharing Not Updating?

In our day to day life, we use it a lot to find places, explore businesses, and share locations with friends. However, In addition to these, sometimes Google maps also experience one major issue that is “Google maps location sharing not working”. Find the below list of solutions to resolve the issue:-

Solution 1: Check your Wi-Fi or Cellular Signal

Make sure that you have the proper internet connection available on a device that you are using to use Google Maps. You can also switch to the cellular data from your Wi-Fi connection.

Solution 2: Update Google Maps app

Using an outdated Google Maps app version may cause plenty of technical issues and you can easily resolve this issue after updating your app to the latest version.

Solution 3: Restart your device

It is one of the best solutions to resolve all kinds of Google Maps related issues. You can easily access the Google Maps app after restarting your preferred device.

Why can’t I refresh someone’s location on Google Maps?

It’s another issue among the users that Google Maps stopped location sharing refreshing. There could be plenty of reasons for this problem. Some of the most common issues of this problem listed below:-

• Improper internet connectivity.
• Outdated app version.
• Caches and data.
• Compatibility issues.
• Using the incompatible device.
• Network connection issues.
• Calibration issues.

References: How to share real-time location with others

Conclusion

I hope you liked this article on Why google maps location sharing not updating, and google maps location sharing not working. I would like to have feedback from my blog readers. Your valuable feedback, question, or comments about this article are always welcome.

#google maps api #google maps location sharing not updating #google maps location sharing not working #google maps location sharing unable to refresh

What Are Google Compute Engine ? - Explained

What Are Google Compute Engine ? - Explained

The Google computer engine exchanges a large number of scalable virtual machines to serve as clusters used for that purpose. GCE can be managed through a RESTful API, command line interface, or web console. The computing engine is serviced for a minimum of 10-minutes per use. There is no up or front fee or time commitment. GCE competes with Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Microsoft Azure.

https://www.mrdeluofficial.com/2020/08/what-are-google-compute-engine-explained.html

#google compute engine #google compute engine tutorial #google app engine #google cloud console #google cloud storage #google compute engine documentation

Real-Time Location Tracking Using Google’s Fused Location Provider API

Location tracking and monitoring have seen a surge in modern application development with various services such as Uber heavily relying on location services that require consistency and accuracy. With businesses and corporations requiring location information and monitoring of their various assets, delivering comprehensive location solutions has been a tricky science for many developers.

Identifying the growing demand for a convenient location providing service Google introduced the Fused Location Provider API. This article will focus on using the API to track a user’s real-time location using an android application and through the example demonstrate the beauty of the API.

The API focuses on providing location information using a combination of a device’s GPS, Wi-Fi and internal sensors. The main selling point is that it decides in what combination to use these three resources based on the request parameters provided. In this context managing these resources is abstracted from the developer.

A simple use case to demonstrate the capacity of the API is tracking the movement of an individual walking towards a building, entering it and then leaving. In this scenario when the person is outdoors, the GPS service will function well. However, as he enters the building the GPS signal may drop. The Fused Location Provider handles the above scenario by tracking the location outdoors via GPS and when the GPS signal drops within the building, it utilizes Wi-Fi. During the switching process from GPS to Wi-Fi, to provide a smoother transition, the device’s internal sensors are used to predict the movement. In this manner, the management of available resources to provide reliable location services in a battery efficient manner is the true power of the API.

Integrating the API into your android application is a simple process. In this example, we will walk through the necessary steps required to build a simple location tracking application.

First, create an android project in Android Studio and within the application’s build.gradle file, ensure the following dependency is present:

dependencies{
   implementation ‘com.google.android.gms:play-services:11.8.0’
}

Secondly, within the Manifest file you must provide either the Fine or Coarse location permission by adding the below snippet:

<uses-permission        android:name=”android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION”
/> 
<uses-permission android:name=”android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION”
/>

Now, create instances of FusedLocationProviderClient, **LocationRequest**and **LocationCallBack**in your activity.

private FusedLocationProviderClient fusedLocationClient;

private LocationRequest locationRequest;
private LocationCallback locationCallback;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
      fusedLocationClient =       LocationServices.getFusedLocationProviderClient(this);
   }
}

#google-maps #android #android-app-development #google #fused-location-provider #modern