Explainer · case B04 · 60 seconds
01 / 08 · Setup
I TURNED OFF LOCATION HISTORY.
Google: OK. And yet, no.
02 / 08 · Tension
DISABLED ? SECOND SETTING.
"Web & App Activity" — default ON
03 / 08 · Reveal
RYAN NAKASHIMA
Associated Press · August 2018
04 / 08 · Mechanism
two settings → one privacy illusion
Location History
visible in Timeline
Web & App Activity
hidden, default ON
location via Wi-Fi, IP, sensor fusion — regardless of setting
05 / 08 · Scale
8 YEARS OF PRACTICE. BILLIONS OF PHONES.
340
transmissions/day from Android
40
US states sued
~660 mln
USD total fines
06 / 08 · Confirmation
SCHMIDT REPORT
Douglas Schmidt
Vanderbilt University
AP · Nakashima
20-phone experiment
Arizona AG
first lawsuit 2020
"simplifying UX would reduce ad targeting precision" — internal Google email
07 / 08 · Penalties
$391.5 MLN
40-state AG settlement (2022) — historic record
+ AZ $85M · DC/IN/TX/WA $29.5M · Korea PIPC EUR 48M · Australia ACCC EUR 35M · class action $93M. Total ~$660M.
08 / 08
LOCATION HISTORY
Dark patterns as a business model. "Simplifying UX would reduce ad targeting precision" — internal Google email.
Case B04 in Big Tech Files.