A few days in the past, Cybernews printed a report that claimed that the Pixel 9 Professional XL shares private information with Google each quarter-hour, earlier than even organising the system. This consists of your location, your electronic mail handle and cellphone quantity, app listing and different telemetry.
Nevertheless, the builders behind the privacy-focused Android fork referred to as GrapheneOS level out that this isn’t distinctive to the Pixel 9 Professional XL – it’s normal Android habits. And never simply that, they level out that iOS collects just about the identical info.
There is a extremely inaccurate article about Pixels from Cybernews making the rounds all over the place in privateness communities. It will get the main points practically utterly mistaken and completely misrepresents issues just like the non-obligatory network-based location used practically all over the 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 through the use of a non-Pixel, however you do find yourself with a tool that is far much less safe and provides OEM companies with their very own privateness points.
— GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS) October 9, 2024
It goes by means of 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 little thing that is coated.
If what folks take from the article is that they need to use a non-Pixel Android system with Google Play, they will have a dramatically much less safe system with the identical privateness points and extra ones from OEM companies.
— GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS) October 9, 2024
Cybernews had reached out to Google earlier than publishing the report and this was the response from Mountain View:
“Person safety and privateness are prime priorities for Pixel. You may handle information sharing, app permissions and extra throughout system setup and in your settings. This report lacks essential context, misinterprets technical particulars and does not absolutely clarify that information transmissions are wanted for legit companies on all cell units whatever the producer, mannequin or OS, comparable to software program updates, on-demand options and personalised experiences,” a Google spokesperson mentioned.
Moreover, Google has been making modifications to make Android extra non-public. Late final 12 months, it introduced that it is going to be transferring 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 vary your settings – you may transfer location historical past on system or swap on the auto-delete possibility (which routinely wipes the info in 3 or 18 months, relying on desire).
Timeline information is now saved in your system
You may study extra about what information is collected by Google and why on this web page concerning the Google Play Providers.