Meta found 'covertly tracking' Android users

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 expert. "They are bridging these two worlds that we think are separate; web browsing and mobile app activities," Dr Acar told Sky News.

"That's very shocking." The apps were able to track users' browser data on all major Android browsers, even if the user was in incognito mode, the academics said. "It's really concerning because it negates every privacy control that you have in modern browsers and also in modern mobile platforms like Android," said Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez, associate professor at IMDEA Networks, to Sky News.

Google, which owns the Android operating system, confirmed the covert activity to Sky News. It said Meta and Yandex used Android's capabilities "in unintended ways that blatantly violate our security and privacy principles".

What have Meta and Yandex said? Meta told Sky News it was quickly looking into the issue. "We are in discussions with Google to address a potential miscommunication regarding the application of their policies," said a Meta spokesperson.

"Upon becoming aware of the concerns, we decided to pause the feature while we work with Google to resolve the issue." Yandex said it "strictly complies with data protection standards.