Ferguson’s office said Google defrauded Washington consumers of their ability to choose whether companies could track their sensitive location data, deceived them about their privacy choices, and profited from it.

Google continues to collect location data from its users even when users have turned off the “location history” option in their account settings, the state said. In practice, it is “almost impossible” for users to prevent Google from tracking their location, the suit also states.

Google also had to make several concessions as part of the settlement, including showing users extra information when they toggle location settings on or off in their accounts. The settlement also requires the company to display location-tracking-related information to users and provide more details about the type of location data it collects and its purpose.

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Apple has fixed the bug in the latest iOS 16.3 update, and Apple issued a statement to AppleInsider and other tech media on Friday saying that there is no evidence that any app has exploited the vulnerability.

Apple said iOS has never been at risk and that the iFood delivery app mentioned in the report did not bypass user-set privacy controls.

"Apple has always believed that the right to know when to share data and with whom to share it should be in the hands of the user. We issued a privacy vulnerability advisory last week that only non-sandboxed apps on macOS could exploit.

We then shared the code base to iOS and iPadOS, tvOS and watchOS, so the fixes and recommendations cover those operating systems as well, except they were never at risk.

The claim that this vulnerability could allow apps to bypass user controls on the iPhone is false.

One report also incorrectly implied that an iOS app was exploiting this or another vulnerability to bypass user control over location data. Our follow-up investigation concluded that the app was not circumventing user controls through any mechanism."

According to Brazilian journalist Rodrigo Ghedin, the local delivery app iFood can use the bug to track users’ locations in iOS 16.2, even if they turn off the app’s access to their location.

The post Apple Says Apple Maps Privacy Flaw Didn’t Affect iPhones, Denies Apps Use Location Data Without Consent appeared first on TechGoing.

According to official court documents, Serrano’s attorneys argued, “This case involves a blatant violation of consumer privacy by Apple. Apple illegally recorded and used consumers’ personal information and activities on their consumer mobile devices and applications (Apps) even after consumers had explicitly set up their Apple mobile devices to indicate that they did not want their data and information to be shared. This activity amounts to a vast wealth of data that Apple collects and uses for its financial benefit.”

Consumers are concerned about keeping their data private and are demanding more control over their data. Consumers are also increasingly concerned that their private information is being used without their knowledge or permission.

With the growing concern about privacy, Apple has been trying to position itself as a leader, touting how its mobile devices allow users to control the information they share.

In its official privacy policy, Apple states.

"At Apple, we respect your ability to understand, access, correct, transfer, limit the processing of, and delete your personal data."

Apple’s “User Privacy and Data Use” page in the App Store similarly states.

"The App Store is designed to be a safe and trustworthy place for users to discover apps created by talented developers from around the world. apps on the App Store are held to high standards of privacy, security and content because nothing is more important than maintaining the trust of users."

Apple even provides specific instructions to users explaining how to control the data Apple collects. Apple tells users that they can turn off the “Allow apps to request tracking” setting if they wish.

In addition, Apple made a direct commitment in the settings of its mobile devices. Apple says it will “completely disable [shared] device analytics” if consumers toggle “shared iPhone analytics” on or off on their iPhone, or if they make similar settings on other Apple mobile devices such as the iPad.

But Apple does not, in fact, honor users’ requests to limit data sharing.

A recent test conducted by two independent app developers at software company Mysk revealed that Apple records, tracks, collects and monetizes consumer analytics data, including browsing history and activity information, even when consumers voluntarily change their “privacy settings” and accept Apple’s instructions to protect their privacy.

These experts and their testing further demonstrate that even when consumers affirmatively turn off “Allow app request tracking” and/or “Share [device] analytics” on their privacy controls, Apple still captures consumers’ app usage, app browsing communications, and personal information in the usage of its proprietary apps, app browsing communications and personal information in its proprietary applications, including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Books and Stocks.

Gizmodo reported on this issue on November 8, 2022. Since Gizmodo’s report, the issue has been covered by multiple news outlets, including The Verge, Engadget, and Fox News, and as of the date of this filing, Apple has not responded to or publicly rebutted these reports.

Apple’s practices have deceived consumers, and its collection of data from users who specifically follow Apple’s instructions to prevent the sharing of their data constitutes an unlawful interception of communications and specifically violates Pennsylvania’s wiretapping laws.

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Meta collected data even when users turned off Location Services on their mobile devices, a violation of California law. Users noted that although they did not want to share location information with Facebook, Facebook used IP addresses to infer a user’s location and then sent targeted ads to them.

The settlement reached Monday covers mainly Americans who used Facebook after Jan. 30, 2015, and in June 2018, Zuckerberg said in a speech to Congress that the company would use location information to help advertisers reach users in specific areas.

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