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The problem stems from the Google Maps Timeline feature, which marks the user's geolocation.
Cybersecurity researcher Pieter Arntz of Malwarebytes discovered that by logging into the Google Play store, a user's location can be tracked.
“I was able to spy on my wife's whereabouts without installing anything on her phone,” the expert said.
Arntz logged into his Google Play account on his wife's phone to pay for the app she wanted to install. He then handed her the phone back to her, forgetting to log out. Soon, the specialist noticed that Google, using the Google Maps Timeline service, marked him in places where he had not been that day.
“It suddenly dawned on me that I was actually getting location updates from my wife's phone as well as my phone,” he said.
As it turned out, Arntz's account was added to his wife's phone accounts when the researcher logged into the Google Play Store. However, the account was not deleted even when the technician logged out. The only thing that could have warned his wife about this unintentional tracking was the initial in a small circle in the upper right corner of her phone.
Arntz reported his findings to Google, but the specialist does not hope that the tech giant will eliminate the potential danger of misuse of the Google Maps Timeline function.
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Cybersecurity researcher Pieter Arntz of Malwarebytes discovered that by logging into the Google Play store, a user's location can be tracked.
“I was able to spy on my wife's whereabouts without installing anything on her phone,” the expert said.
Arntz logged into his Google Play account on his wife's phone to pay for the app she wanted to install. He then handed her the phone back to her, forgetting to log out. Soon, the specialist noticed that Google, using the Google Maps Timeline service, marked him in places where he had not been that day.
“It suddenly dawned on me that I was actually getting location updates from my wife's phone as well as my phone,” he said.
As it turned out, Arntz's account was added to his wife's phone accounts when the researcher logged into the Google Play Store. However, the account was not deleted even when the technician logged out. The only thing that could have warned his wife about this unintentional tracking was the initial in a small circle in the upper right corner of her phone.
Arntz reported his findings to Google, but the specialist does not hope that the tech giant will eliminate the potential danger of misuse of the Google Maps Timeline function.
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