You opened Google Maps settings and turned off Location History. Google kept tracking you anyway. The Associated Press discovered that Google Search, Chrome, and even the Weather app continued recording your location after you turned off the setting Google told you controlled location tracking. Google's own engineers told the AP it was "practically impossible" to stop Google from tracking your location. Forty US states sued. Google paid $391.5 million. Arizona added $85 million more. The "off" switch was theater. Google always knew where you were. Google built a database called Sensorvault. It contained the precise location history of hundreds of millions of people going back a decade. Police discovered they could get a warrant and ask Google: who was near this crime scene at this time? Google received 11,554 of these "geofence warrants" in 2020 alone. Jorge Molina spent six days in jail for a murder he didn't commit -- his Google location data was the only evidence. A Florida man was accused of burglary because he biked past the scene. A Virginia man was jailed for a week and cleared. Google collected your location to "improve your experience." Police used it to arrest innocent people.
What they claim: Google states it collects location data "to improve your experience" and "help you navigate and explore the world" while protecting user privacy.
What we found: Google's Sensorvault database -- revealed by the New York Times -- contained precise location data for hundreds of millions of users going back nearly a decade. Police across the US used this database to issue "geofence warrants" demanding data on every Google user near a crime scene during a specific time window. Google received 11,554 geofence warrants in 2020 alone. Jorge Molina of Avondale Estates, Georgia spent six days in jail for a murder he did not commit -- his Google location data was the only evidence against him. An innocent Florida man was accused of burglary because his Google data showed he biked past the scene. A Virginia man was arrested, jailed for a week, and eventually cleared after Google data falsely placed him near a crime. Federal courts began restricting geofence warrants, citing Fourth Amendment concerns. In December 2023, Google announced it would move Location History data to on-device storage -- widely interpreted as a response to geofence warrant backlash.
What they claim: Google Maps describes location data as helping users navigate and discover places
What we found: Google settled with Texas for $1.4 billion in May 2025 — resolving lawsuits over biometric and location data collection without consent. Google had continued tracking users' locations even after they disabled Location History, using a separate "Web & App Activity" setting that most users didn't know existed. Two toggles, one purpose, designed to confuse.
What they claim: Google's privacy controls present Location History as a feature users can "manage, delete, or turn off at any time" with full transparency over what is stored.
What we found: The New York Times investigation revealed Google maintained Sensorvault -- a database of precise location records for hundreds of millions of users stretching back nearly a decade. Even after Google's 2024 announcement that Location History would move to on-device storage, other Google services continued collecting location signals. Google Search records location with every query. Chrome tracks location through IP and Wi-Fi data. YouTube, Google Photos, and Google Assistant all collect location metadata. The "Location History" toggle controlled only one data stream among many. Users who believed they had deleted their location history or turned off tracking had addressed one faucet while the rest continued flowing. Google's location data collection is not a single feature -- it is an architectural principle embedded across dozens of products.
What they claim: Google Maps promotes its review system as a way for users to "share experiences" and "help others make informed decisions" in a community-driven environment.
What we found: Government agencies and law enforcement have used Google Maps reviews and business data to identify and track individuals. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has used Google data including Maps to locate and track immigrants. Business owners have been doxxed through Google Maps listings -- their home addresses exposed through business registrations tied to Maps. The review system has also been weaponized for harassment: coordinated fake review campaigns targeting businesses, review bombing during political disputes, and competitive sabotage. Harvard Business School researchers (Luca & Zervas) documented that the fake review economy around platforms like Google Maps is a billion-dollar industry. Your review of a local restaurant reveals your location, your habits, and your identity to anyone who wants to look.
What they claim: Google Maps and Chrome offer "Incognito Mode" suggesting that user activity during these sessions is private and not tracked.
What we found: Google agreed to settle a $5 billion class action lawsuit (Brown v. Google) alleging it tracked users even while they used Chrome's Incognito Mode. The tracking fed Google's advertising system, including location-based ad targeting that relied on Maps data. Internal Google documents revealed employees joked about the misleading name, with one engineer calling Incognito Mode "effectively a lie." Maps data was part of the broader tracking ecosystem: location signals collected during "private" browsing sessions were incorporated into Google's advertising profiles. The settlement required Google to delete billions of data points collected during supposedly private browsing sessions and to more clearly disclose what Incognito Mode actually does -- and does not -- prevent.
What they claim: Google provides tools to "delete your Location History" and states deleted data is removed from Google's systems.
What we found: Even after users deleted Location History, Google retained location-derived data in other forms: ad targeting profiles built from location data persisted after deletion, location data embedded in Google Photos EXIF data remained, search queries containing location information were retained separately, and aggregated location analytics continued to include deleted users' data in anonymized form. The $391.5 million settlement with 40 states specifically addressed Google's misleading deletion practices. Researchers found that Google's location data ecosystem is so deeply intertwined across products that deleting "Location History" removed the timeline view but not the underlying location intelligence already extracted and distributed across Google's systems.
What they claim: Google stated that turning off "Location History" would prevent the company from storing a record of the user's movements.
What we found: An Associated Press investigation in August 2018 found that Google continued tracking and storing user location data even after users explicitly turned off the "Location History" setting. Other Google services -- including Search, Chrome, and the Weather app -- continued recording location. Internal Google employees told AP the company had made it "practically impossible" for users to prevent location tracking. In November 2022, Google agreed to pay $391.5 million to settle with 40 US state attorneys general over the misleading location tracking disclosures. Arizona secured an additional $85 million in a separate settlement. The investigation revealed that Google's "Location History" setting was essentially a decoy -- turning it off created the illusion of privacy while tracking continued through other channels.
What they claim: Google states it collects location data "to provide navigation and mapping services" and that users have "control" over their location data.
What we found: Google Maps collects: precise GPS coordinates, movement speed and direction, altitude, Wi-Fi access point data, cell tower identifiers, Bluetooth beacon proximity, places visited and time spent at each location, frequency of visits, home and work addresses (auto-detected from patterns), commute routes and timing, search queries for businesses and addresses, and route preferences. From this data, Google can determine: where you live, where you work, what time you leave and arrive, which route you take, how often you deviate, which shops you visit, how long you stay, whether you're walking or driving, and which other Google users are near you. The app knows more about your daily routine than your spouse does.