Feature in Android phones can reveal details of users’ activities to Google, apps: The Independent
While the possibility is not new, a lot of users are reportedly unaware of it.
An activity recognition permission in Android phones can reveal to Google details about users’ physical activity and the apps they are using on their device, the Independent reported.
The feature, which was discussed on Reddit and was also highlighted by search engine DuckDuckGo on its Twitter handle last week, can tell, for instance, if a user is standing up or if he-or-she has lifted the phone off a desk.
There's a new Android permission in town, that shares with apps whether you're walking, driving, sitting, etc.
— DuckDuckGo (@duckduckgo) October 26, 2017
It's called "Activity Recognition" and you can find it in an app's permissions page, in the "Other" category, but it can't be disabled. pic.twitter.com/rXJvXDd132
Activity recognition, the website reported, is not new though a lot of users were seemingly unaware of it. “The Activity Recognition API is built on top of the sensors available in a device,” says Google. “The activities are detected by periodically waking up the device and reading short bursts of sensor data...it can detect if the user is currently on foot, in a car, on a bicycle or still.”
It can also tell developers when a phone is being tilted as the device’s angle “relative to gravity” changes.
Users, who are uncomfortable with this option, have to manually visit the settings of each app to disable the permission granted, the Independent reported.