Google Admits Tracking Users' Movements If Location History Setting Turned Off

Photo: Reuters.

On Monday, Associated Press published an investigation saying that some Google apps on Android devices and iPhones saved the location data of their users even when the Location History setting was off.

The Google Account Help page now says that "this setting does not affect other location services on your device," noting that "some location data may be saved as part of your activity on other services, like Search and Maps."

However, previously, the page stated that "with Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored."

Google has repeatedly faced allegations of systematic, illegal gathering of personal information in many countries throughout the year. In November, a UK activist group called Google You Owe Us brought a class action against the IT giant over its allegedly illegal collection of personal data bypassing default privacy settings.