Google has taken steps to limit the disclosure of the locations of millions of iPhones, laptops, and other devices with Wi-Fi connections after a CNET article drew attention to privacy concerns.
The move by Google comes after the Mountain View, Calif.-based company was criticized for the way it made a database assembled by Android phones and Street View cars available to the public, even though it could link a geographical location with a unique hardware address of a Wi-Fi enabled device. The change means that Google now appears to be moving closer to the approach adopted by Apple and Microsoft, which never made their location databases public.
A source close to Google said some changes have been made to the way Google's location server processes location requests. A Google spokesman declined to comment.
Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including PCs, iPhones, iPads, and Android phones, transmit a unique hardware identifier, called a MAC address, to anyone within a radius of approximately 100 to 200 feet. Until CNET's June 15 article was published, if someone captured or already knew that unique address, Google's server could reveal a previous location where that device was located, including home or work addresses or even the addresses of restaurants frequented.
