Android App Developers Beware: Your Users' Location Data May Be at Risk!

TL;DR

• The EFF says some Android apps may be passing users’ precise location data to advertisers and data brokers through third-party SDKs, even when developers do not realize the sharing is enabled by default.
• The core problem is that app-level location permission can flow through embedded ad code, so once a user grants location access to the app, the SDK may inherit that access too.
• EFF advises developers to disable unnecessary data collection and urges users to review location permissions, limit precise access, and reduce ad-tracking identifiers where possible.

The hidden privacy leak inside popular Android apps

A new warning from the Electronic Frontier Foundation says Android developers may be unknowingly sharing users’ location data with advertisers and other third parties through embedded software development kits, or SDKs, that inherit the app’s permissions. The issue is not limited to a handful of niche apps: TechCrunch reported that the EFF found two apps quietly sharing location data that had been downloaded a combined 60 million times.

How third-party code can inherit location access

The EFF’s concern is straightforward: if an app asks for location permission, the third-party code inside that app can often use that access too unless the developer intentionally turns off collection. In the EFF’s framing, there are “no SDK-specific location permissions,” which means app-level consent can become a gateway for ad tech and data brokers to receive precise location data.

That design matters because many developers add monetization and analytics libraries without fully understanding how much data those tools can collect by default. The EFF says commercially motivated SDK providers are generally incentivized to collect more data, not less.

Why app permissions do not equal meaningful consent

The EFF argues that asking a user for location permission at the app level does not provide meaningful consent for third-party advertising SDKs to collect and share that location data. In its report, the organization said advertising SDKs should not make sharing personal data the default, especially when the data is as sensitive as a person’s precise location.

This is especially important because location data can reveal far more than a map pin. The EFF has repeatedly emphasized that location information exposes a person’s movements in the physical world and can reveal highly sensitive patterns about daily life.

What the EFF tested

According to TechCrunch, the EFF identified the issue by analyzing the network traffic generated by Android apps and checking which services were receiving location information. That kind of traffic inspection can show whether data is being sent to ad networks, analytics providers, or data brokers rather than staying within the app’s core functionality.

The broader EFF position is that once an app has location access, it often has “free rein” to share that access with many outside parties, including through SDK partnerships and real-time bidding advertising systems.

What this means for Android developers

For developers, the takeaway is that privacy risk does not stop at the app’s own codebase. Every third-party library, ad module, and analytics SDK should be treated as a potential data-sharing channel, especially if the app requests precise location permission.

Practical steps include:

• Auditing all third-party SDKs for location collection behavior.
• Turning off location sharing features that are not essential to the app’s function.
• Minimizing location access requests and using approximate location when precision is unnecessary.
• Reviewing whether ad monetization tools are collecting more data than intended.

Why users should care too

The EFF has long warned that location data brokers collect information about the movements of hundreds of millions of people, often without meaningful consent. That data can come from third-party apps that either sell it directly through SDKs or pass it indirectly through ad-tech systems.

For users, the most immediate protection is to review which apps have location permission and revoke access for apps that do not truly need it. On Android, the EFF also recommends disabling or deleting the advertising ID when possible, since that identifier helps brokers connect data across apps.

A larger warning for the mobile ad ecosystem

This latest EFF finding fits a broader pattern: location data collected inside consumer apps can be repurposed far beyond the developer’s original intent. The problem is not only privacy leakage to advertisers, but also the possibility that sensitive mobility data can end up in broader data-broker and surveillance pipelines.

For Android developers, the message is clear: if your app uses third-party code, you may be sharing far more than you think. For users, the safest assumption is that any app with location access may also be exposing that data to outside companies unless privacy controls are explicitly tightened.

AndroGuider Team

Articles written by the AndroGuider team. We try to make them thorough and informational while being easy to read.