Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret

Jennifer Valentino-Devries, Natasha Singer, Michael H. Keller and Aaron Krolik, for The New York Times:

More than 1,000 popular apps contain location-sharing code from such companies, according to 2018 data from MightySignal, a mobile analysis firm. Google’s Android system was found to have about 1,200 apps with such code, compared with about 200 on Apple’s iOS.

The most prolific company was Reveal Mobile, based in North Carolina, which had location-gathering code in more than 500 apps, including many that provide local news. A Reveal spokesman said that the popularity of its code showed that it helped app developers make ad money and consumers get free services.

Apple is a better proprietor than Google in this regard, but a lot more can and should be done to protect users.