Re: Location History is moving to on-phone timeline

Andy Burns wrote on Wed, 20 Nov 2024 14:26:37 +0000 :

   And I still don't see an explanation *why* they are doing/changing
this. Only that each of your devices will keep its own Timeline, but I
think that's more a disadvantage than a feature.

 
Maybe there's no or too little market for the location data?

 
I think their T&C say the timeline data is for the user's eyes only?
 
As part of the change from cloud to device storage, the do ask for
permission to make the data available to advertisers, of course I said no.

Always being especially curious of the delta between what a company "says"
it does versus what that company "actually" does, naturally I used Google
to ask Google why Google was doing it... where Google's AI told me:

  "Google is moving Timeline data to your device primarily for
   privacy reasons, allowing users to have more control over their
   location history by storing it locally on their phone instead
   of on Google's servers, which means law enforcement agencies
   would need a warrant to access that data directly from the
   user's device rather than from Google's database; this change
   comes in response to concerns about user data collection
   and tracking practices."

The problem with asking anything of any company with clever marketing (just
ask Apple why they removed the headphone jack & charger in the box) is that
it's NEVER "for you". It's "for them". But the question remains of why.

Outside of Google, this seems to have reliably stated reasons...

 *Google Maps Timeline Data to be Stored Locally on Your Device for Privacy*
 <https://thehackernews.com/2024/06/google-maps-timeline-data-to-be-stored.html>

Snippets... effective December 1st, 2024... Users are also being asked to
turn on backups to save an encrypted copy of the Timeline data on Google's
servers to facilitate transfer when switching devices... The development is
part of a series of changes the company has enacted in response to
allegations that it misled consumers and illegally tracked their movements
despite turning off Location History from the account settings by taking
advantage of the non-obvious Web & App Activity setting... It does not stop
Google's collection of other location markers... Google has since settled
with several states in the U.S. over this practice, with the company also
opting to pay $62 million to numerous non-profits in April 2024. A similar
lawsuit filed in the state of Texas is pending...."

So it seems privacy laws made them do it.