Google Wary of Sharing User Location Data in Pandemic Fight

  • Company rules out using Location History for ‘contact tracing’
  • Information might help measure impact of social distancing
Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
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Google is limiting how its trove of location data is used in the fight against the novel coronavirus as the company balances government demands with user privacy concerns.

The largest U.S. internet company has been talking with other tech companies and governments about how to respond to the pandemic. Google has detailed information on the movement of billions of people who use its digital Maps and Android devices, and this has been identifiedBloomberg Terminal as a useful asset.