Can Google know my location without me opening Google Maps?
Yes. A 2018 AP/Princeton investigation found Google stored precise coordinates from ordinary searches and app use even with Location History turned off, because a separate setting, Web & App Activity, was on by default and kept logging location anyway. Google paid $391.5 million to 40 states in 2022 and $93 million to California in 2023 over this.
Answered in
How Google Actually Tracks You: The Data Empire Behind the Search BoxChrome logs your keystrokes, ad auctions broadcast your location 747 times a day, and DHS subpoenaed Gmail records in 4 hours. Here's the verified system.
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