\n<\/p>\n
Google has agreed to pay $93 million<\/a> to the state of California to settle claims it tracked the location of users without their knowledge. Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Google must also provide more information about the location data it collects on users. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The settlement follows a \u201cmulti-year\u201d investigation by California\u2019s Department of Justice, which found that Google deceived users into thinking they weren\u2019t getting tracked when they actually were. According to the complaint<\/a>, Google continued to collect and store location data on users even when they disabled the \u201cLocation History\u201d setting within its apps and services, allowing the company to use this information for targeted advertising.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Google has since addressed the issues outlined in the complaint, with company spokesperson Jos\u00e9 Casta\u00f1eda telling The Verge<\/em> the allegations are \u201cbased on outdated product policies we changed years ago.\u201d California now requires Google to disclose that the location data they collect on users might be used for ad personalization, provide more transparency about location tracking, as well as offer detailed information about the data it collects on its website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOur investigation revealed that Google was telling its users one thing \u2014 that it would no longer track their location once they opted out \u2014 but doing the\u00a0opposite\u00a0and continuing to\u00a0track\u00a0its users\u2019 movements\u00a0for its own commercial gain,\u201d California Attorney General Rob Bonta says in a statement. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n