It is not a secret that some malicious apps are intended to steal and provide user information, even if they do not have permission to do so. This applies to virtually every platform, from computer to phone operating systems and more.
This problem is not rare in Android, and the new report that has come to light details it. Although Google has made and continues to make the effort to eliminate applications that improperly filter user data, there are still many in the store that still do so, but the problem, apparently, is related, more than anything, to the own operating system.
Zhongguancun Online News, a foreign investigation team made a disturbing finding: With permission or not, Android apps silently send the mobile phone's unique identification code and positioning data to its own server. In simpler and more summarized words, these filter user position, even if the location permission is disabled.
But that is not all. The thing seems to be more serious. Other vulnerabilities have come to light in the disclosed report, some of which might even send important information such as the user's NIC MAC address, router access point, and SSID to their own servers, seriously encroaching on user privacy.
"Google publicly states that privacy should not be a luxury, but it seems to be happening," said the Zhongguancun Online News team.
In consecuense, Google was warned. This said that everything said will be solved with Android Q, once it is launched in a stable way. But where are the smartphones that will only get Android Pie at most? The company needs to do something, but has not communicated anything about these devices. So it remains to be seen if there will be a separate security implementation for these; this is very likely, and would be met by an update. Otherwise, millions of people will still be affected.