Google can track your location even when you ditch your phone's battery

New Delhi: If you thought that by ditching your phone's battery you can be sure of hiding your tracks, you are probably mistaken.

A Zee Media report has said that Google can trace your location even when you have taken out your battery from mobile phone . On the top of your smartphone's motherboard there is a mini IRC battery which never gets switched off. This battery keeps a track of your location. When you connect back to your internet this battery can convey your entire day's track to Google.

A couple of months ago, a report in the Quartz had revealed that Google is collecting location information from Android smartphones despite location services being actively switched off.

Even as the widening debate on encryption and fundamental right to privacy continues to die down, the latest report on Google's location data collection came as a shocker for many.

An investigative report by Quartz had revealed that phones running Android software gather data about the user's location and sends it “back to Google when they’re connected to the internet”.

"The information is collected even if the user actively turns off location services, has not used any apps, and has not even inserted a carrier SIM card", the investigation had found.

The investigation had found that Google was collecting location data since beginning of 2017 after a change in early 2017 to the Firebase Cloud Messaging service. The service is is owned by Google and runs on Android phones as a default set up.

“The result is that Google, the unit of Alphabet behind Android, has access to data about individuals’ locations and their movements that go far beyond a reasonable consumer expectation of privacy,” it had said.

Quartz had said that Google confirmed the findings on data collection and the company's spokesperson said that the search engine giant will take “steps to end the practice”.