Using GPS, Wi-Fi and cell tower data, Google’s Your Timeline can paint a very accurate picture of your daily life. If you’ve got it switched on, it stores every step you take and everywhere you go.
And the thing is, lots of people seem to have it switched on without even realising, including me, and my favourite hats come in tinfoil.
I was surprised it had slipped past me so I started asking other people if they had it switched on too. More often than not, without making a conscious decision to let Google follow them around, they had.
In the end I decided to ask 20 people at random and write down the answers. The result of my short, non-scientific survey? 95% of the people I asked – a mixture of people in technical and non-technical roles – had location history, or its slightly less obnoxious iPhone equivalent Frequent Locations, turned on, tracking their every step, without realising.
Check for yourself. On Android it’s under Settings > Location > Google Location History.
So what exactly is Google Timeline? Google says: “Your timeline in Google Maps helps you find the places you’ve been and the routes you’ve travelled. Your timeline is private, so only you can see it.”
Only you. And Google.
Read the whole thing. The WHOLE THING.
This could be the best post Naked Security has ever published.
Well done, Sophos, and thanks for helping more people understand how to liberate themselves from having their every move tracked by the Monster of Mountain View.