Google’s 'consent-less' Android tracking probed by academics

Research from a leading academic shows Android users have advertising cookies and other gizmos working to build profiles on them even before they open their first app.Doug Leith, professor and chair of computer systems at Trinity College Dublin, who carried out the research, claims in his write up that no consent is sought for the various identifiers and there is no way of opting out from having them run.He found various mechanisms operating on the Android system which were then relaying the data back to Google via pre-installed apps such as Google Play Services and the Google Play store, all without users ever opening a Google app. One of these is the "DSID" cookie, which Google explains in its documentation is used to identify a "signed in user on non-Google websites so that the user's preference for personalized advertising is respected accordingly." The "DSID" cookie lasts for two weeks. Speaking about Google's description in its documentation, Leith's research states the explanati...