Google has apologized after admitting to changing the settings on Android users phones remotely and without the phone owners’ permission. Several Android users noticed their battery saver setting had been activated last week without their consent.
Most of the affected posters on Reddit described having a Google Pixel device. Other brands of Android devices were also mentioned, including the Essential Phone, which was designed by one of the creators of Android. Google Pixel phone users were surprised to see their phones’ battery saver function turned on while the battery is at 99% without them turning it on. This unusual incident was first reported by the Android Police, who said that a “substantial” number of Pixel owners complained about such a thing happening, according to the Business Times.
According to the BBC, the affected devices were running the Android Pie operating system. Some people thought that the battery saver being enabled was just a “strange bug” in the Android Pie OS. Google, however, admitted that it wasn’t a bug. It was actually an experiment rolled out by mistake.
The firm took to discussion website Reddit to explain that it was conducting an internal test that was “mistakenly” rolled out more widely. “This was an internal experiment to test battery-saving features that was mistakenly rolled out to more users than intended,” the company said on Reddit. “We have now rolled battery saver settings back to default. Please configure to your liking. Sorry for the confusion.”
The battery saver feature can delay notifications when activated. It can also remove location services among other things to save the battery’s power. BBC noted that technology commentator Kate Bevan, editor of Which? Computing magazine, said her phone was affected. “I noticed the other day that suddenly my battery saver was on and I was a bit puzzled by it,” Bevan said. “I don’t want any app or operating system reversing decisions I’ve made – unless I know why they are doing it. It’s about transparency and consent – it may well be a good idea that a change is being made but I still want to know why.”
This little blunder has raised privacy concerns for not just Android users, but all owners of wireless devices. Just how far have companies gone to violate the basic privacy rights of ordinary people? Who knows…and we probably won’t ever know. But it’s certainly likely that this is just the tip of the iceberg.
I don’t have a cell phone. I don’t know why you would ever want to always make a phone call or take a phone call. If in that sort of situation, you need a sat phone.
But tablets routinely use Linux and run google software and it’s irritating. You have to “jailbreak” them to turn it off. It routinely will launch a whole host of google affiliated software. Luckily, I got a very old one.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-root-android/
When the article describes “bloatware” it’s google programs that self launch and monitor you and use up your memory without permission.
You can turn them off.
What a moron. Does not own a cell phone. You have a cell phone so customers can call you to get your business and you make money. Your IQ must be low 30’s or less moronathon. Guess you dont have any friends either to reach you to do stuff. You are a boring dolt. Dumber than a caveman. And you dont need a Sat phone to make a phone call. You are playing with about 1/3rd of a full deck there skippy. Lol.
🙂 How impotent. When did you sell your soul to Mammon?
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6:22-24
” If in that sort of situation, you need a sat phone.”
Yeah no. There are many a remote place that still have cell service.
Yeah but why have a cell phone at all? The landline phone is there when I want to use it. It’s not essential to own a cell phone. In fact, it’s irritating. And they always be tracked.
So unless you always MUST be connected (say you are a physician or a soldier) and in that case, you need a sat phone as you do not know if cell service is some backwoods place or on a mountain if service is even available.
Cell towers result in increased cancer. Cell phones actually harm the body.
Because Boring Marantha never goes anywhere or has any friends, or cares about any news or gets any email or phone calls, he blockhead just sits in his lazy boy, day dreaming about the past and future and dreaming up new words.
Just look at this moronic statement he says: So unless you always MUST be connected (say you are a physician or a soldier)
Like I said, skippy is not playing with a full deck here.
You are encouraging people to becomes slaves to Mammon and the cell phones are the shackles.
What would your ancestors say to that? It so bizarre. How coud have spent eight years on this and have learned so little?
Google would like to apologize to all the families who’s conservative family members died when Googles “ breath of life “ app was turned to “ off “ by mistake… carry on like nothing just happened OK slaves ?
I have a Samsung cell phone with an Android O/S. It only leaves the house when I or my wife go into town. The phone doesn’t work inside the house because of our metal roofing. Due to the rural nature of our location and the age of our vehicles it has been very useful to have( my newest vehicle is 14 years old, my lowest mileage vehicle is 140,000 miles). The only “personal data” on the phone is our phone contact list, which is mainly family. The phone is handy for price checking in a “big box store”. I only use DuckDuckgo as the search engine as they don’t track your usage. GPS is disabled.
We never go to sites where we have to log-in.
In other words it is mainly a emergency phone, we pull data off it, but don’t store anything private or very important on it.
Pretty safe to use, if you use it wisely.
Never use WIFI or GPS and Disable Google Administrator on your phones. Otherwise you are a tracked slave.
I walked into Walmart once and I swear my WiFi was turned on remotely. Shut off Data Tranamitting when going into any Big Box store. They will track your every foot step pattern. Never ever use WiFi. It steralizes womens fertile eggs including if younare pregnant and carrying a female fetus. WiFi will kill thise eggs also. Never use WiFi atbhome either. Massive Radio Frequency Microwaves bombarding you causes cancer skin irritations moodyness, pets hypersensitivity. And a hundred other health related problems. Like insomnia. Cut all WiFi off and hard wire your laptops and TV. When not using your modem shut it off completely as it uses about 30 Watts per hour. Be smart folks. Also casch and clear your cell activity frequently used including texts, phone calls and aearch pages. Go to security and privacy settings and clear your activity daily.
There are also reports connecting WiFi to dream modification, where every member in the same family reports how they all had the same dream on the same night.
Could you imagine being so fucked-with that you couldn’t even sleep at night?
I believe that these tech monsters want to out Orwell Orwell; out dystopia dystopia; out Skynet Skynet. They don’t just want to mess with you, they want to fuck you up.
I’ve dumped the Smart Phone. It’s sitting in its original packaging in a desk drawer. I don’t use WiFi. My computer is cable connected. At night, when I shut the computer off, the cable gets disconnected.
How ridiculous. The Wifi is still there. You are bathed in it even if you turn off reception. Even if you have no Wifi, if your neighbors do, and you can coast on their signal, then their Wifi field is reaching you.
Try reading a book now and then.
You talk like you are about 10 years old.
“Try reading a book now and then.”
A bible thumper and stupid. Who would have thought? So glad you gave up on being a “slave to mammon.” Now try kicking the devil habit.
No such thing as cyber security.
If any party can access your equipment remotely, at any time to make any program alteration or forward your information ,then there is no security.
If any program autonomously looks for and forwards any system or personal information , then there is no security.
I’ve got an iPhone so no google to worry about.
Apple is the worst. Always tracks you even if you shut your phone off because you cant even remove the battery. Remotely turns your speaker on and listens to every conversation you have, every click, every search. Get away from all Apple products.
And Windows 10 is pure evil, your agreement says Microsoft owns all your content, passwords, banking passwords, photos word docs, you name it. Never ever connect your cell phone to your laptop to charge your phone via USB Connection as all your data syncs between both devices. Its all pure evil. I even tried Windows 8 and threw the new laptop away and was lucky to find a new lap top with window7 office. I will Never go to windowd 10. Its enslavement. And NEVER EVER DO ANY UPDATES EVER ON ANY DEVICE EVER. ITS A SCAM TO SEND ALL YOUR META DATA TO THE HOST. AND PLANT MORE PACKETS OF TRACKING PROGRWMS ON YOUR DEVICES. JUST HIT DELETE WHEN YOUR CELL SAYS UPDATE. DELETE IT.
Microsoft does the same thing to my computer with their hated “Windows 10.” I load a free media player on my computer because Microsoft wants me to pay for theirs, and they corrupt the program. I load a photo app for my digital camera and Microsoft deletes it in one of their “upgrades.” They are always trying to get me to update my password because they can’t get past the old one.
When I was running “Windows Vista Premium” they locked my computer up until I purchased Windows 7. At least “Windows 7” was worth the $100.00 bucks. And once I paid Microsoft their money they left me alone.
I hate these blood-sucking bastards. I wish Bill Gates’ plane would crash.
That’s what is shocking. You don’t understand how your devices work! The Wifi broadcasts whether you receive it or not! Everyone all around you have Wifi routers and they are broadcasting all the time. You can’t shut it out.
There are twenty different Wifi routers all around me. In the old days, nobody password protected these, and basically anyone could “coast” on other’s routers. But in fact there are hundreds and hundreds around me. My device unaided can knuckle detect twenty, but if I added a simple antenna, I could detect these hundreds.
Based on atmospheric conditions and if the folks wanted to boost their signals, you could utilize them to do all kinds of things.
Actually there are prepper articles that describe how to use these wifi routers as communication networks in case the SHTF.
Every store has Wifi now. Every library has Wifi now. Every government office.
In fact, there is so MUCH Wifi, that it can act to detect the inner contents of rooms in vague ways and detect the people in rooms. There are security devices that use this blanketing of Wifi for that purpose.
It is as if you are oblivious to technology.
All devices calling out to be seen when wifi or Bluetooth is on…this includes Bluetooth safes.
One can walk into a house with their phone’s Bluetooth menu open to see what devices are broadcasting.
One doesn’t call out “Here I am!” when playing hide-and-seek.
Pay attention to the link as it’s from this very site.
https://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/survival-communications-after-a-collapse-pringles-can-and-broadband-routers-could-create-a-wifi-network_05062016
Wifi routers turned into radar.
https://gizmodo.com/scientists-are-turning-wifi-routers-into-creepy-radar-c-1794961990