Meta found 'covertly tracking' Android users through Instagram and Facebook

Meta and search engine company Yandex have been "covertly tracking" Android users in the background of their devices, according to experts. Academics at the Radboud University in the Netherlands and IMDEA Networks said they discovered Meta and Yandex have been tracking Android users' browser activity without their consent and then using the data in their apps. Meta said it was looking into the issue, while Yandex denied collecting any sensitive data. Gunes Acar, assistant professor at Radboud University, said the "covert" data collection was spotted in January. He said he discovered Meta's apps, including Facebook and Instagram, and Yandex's apps, such as Yandex Maps, were sitting in the background of Android devices and loading a script that sent data locally back to apps on users' phones. The scripts bypassed Android's security measures and meant that Meta and Yandex could track what users were doing on web browsers, without the user consenting or even knowing, according to the ... Read full article.