Quote:Of course, we aren't naive. The capability to track movements and data has been around for some time. But the depth of the tracking is eerie, even more so when you realize this is all data that the government could get access to if Google was ordered to share.

Google's response was to specifically state that Location History is opt-in. “With your permission, Google uses your Location History to deliver better results and recommendations on Google products,” a spokesman told Quartz via email. “For example, you can receive traffic predictions for your daily commute, view photos grouped by locations, see recommendations based on places you’ve visited, and even locate a missing phone. Location History is entirely opt-in, and you can always edit, delete, or turn it off at any time.”

But the drawback is you lose some functionality of many apps that you may rely on to use that information.

So in the end, you can delete the app, don't allow any app request to access your information, or just acquiesce to the fact that Google - and likely other tech companies - are subtlely telling you "I'll be watching you."