Your favorite Android apps might be leaking your location

TL;DR Third-party SDKs integrated into trusted apps may be collecting and sharing your precise location data with a network of advertising companies. Said SDKs come with location data collection settings turned on by default. Developers have the option to disable location data collection, provided that they actively review SDK settings and opt out of unnecessary data-sharing features.

Using a niche weather , navigation , or similar location-hungry app? Your location data might inadvertently be going places you never signed up for. No, this isn’t necessarily nefarious behavior on the app or its developers’ part.

Instead, the culprit might be third-party advertising software quietly pulling the strings behind the scenes, as highlighted in an alarming new report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).