Following various data-related controversies in the recent past, tech giants like Apple and Google started focusing a little extra on user privacy when it comes to their products and services. However, it’s not the case entirely, as according to a recent research paper, Google’s Phone and Messages apps collect and send user data to Google’s servers without user permission. While it is a privacy risk for users, the practice also potentially violates the EU’s General Data Protection and Regulation law.
Google Phone and Messages app are arguably two of the most-used apps on Android as they come pre-installed in most modern Android devices. So, as per an in-depth research paper titled “What Data Do The Google Dialer and Messages Apps on Android Send to Google?,” computer science professor of Trinity College Douglas Leith uncovered that these apps collect and send user data to Google without the necessary permissions.
Furthermore, Google provided some clarifications for its data collection practices. The company said that the message hash is collected for detecting message sequencing bugs, while the phone numbers are collected to improve the automatic detection of one-time password messages sent over RCS.
