According to a new study, an internal Google system called “Android Lockbox” gives employees of the company access to information about how Android users interact with popular, non-Google apps and services.
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The service, which operates through Google Mobile Services, ensures employees are apparently able to see “important” data on other apps, including how often they are accessed and how long they are being used.
Sources say that this information is being used to keep tabs on competitors of Google’s Gmail service or to track the use of Facebook and Instagram. Google is also supposed to have been using it to prepare its TikTok rival, Shorts, for launch. Sources also claim that in some situations, Google employees have to apply for permission to access this data and that such requests are sometimes refused.
The report comes as Google’s company faces heavy regulatory scrutiny in the United States. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is due to testify in Congress and the company is facing an antitrust investigation in almost every US state. The US Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to file its own antitrust lawsuit. These investigations focus on the company’s search and ad businesses.
According to the reports, when users decide to share details with Google as part of the Android setup process, Android Lockbox is able to access the most useful data. Users are told that this data allows Google to offer a more personalized experience, but it also provides Google with data for competitive research.
In response to reports, Google admitted that it has access to usage data from rival apps, but said the program is public and that similar data can also be accessed by other developers. Google’s scope with the software is thought to be much wider, though, since it includes any smartphone with Google’s pre-installed apps, while other developers can only see data from phones that have their apps installed. Google said the data does not provide details about how people behave when using individual apps, but it wouldn’t reveal whether the data has been used to create rival apps.
The collected data is anonymous and cannot be identified personally, the report says. Google says, users are made aware of the data collection and that they have control over it.
“Since 2014, the Android App Usage Data (API) has been used by Google and Android developers who have been authorized by Android OEMs or users to access basic data about app usage—such as how often apps are opened—to analyze and improve services,” said a Google spokesperson.
According to the spokesperson, app usage information is “obtained solely via this API” and may be used to allocate battery power to frequently-used apps, for Google’s Digital Wellbeing features, and to improve app discovery in its Play Store. “The API doesn’t obtain any information about the in-app activity and our collection of this data is disclosed to and controllable by users,” the spokesperson said.
Google isn’t the only organization that has been accused of seeking to gather data about rival companies from mobile. Back in 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook used its own VPN service, Onavo, to track rival services and prepare its acquisitions, such as WhatsApp. In 2019 the app was shut down.
