Google Removes Privacy Feature from Android

Google has disabled a privacy feature in Android that gave users the ability to block the apps they use from collecting personal information about them. This means that anyone using Android 4.4.2 must give access to their personal information so as to be able to use certain apps. This move, as well as Google’s claim that the feature was never supposed to exist, has been condemned by digital rights organization the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Android users wishing to hold onto this feature by not upgrading to the latest version of the mobile OS may be subject to security risks, warned the foundation. “For the time being, users will need to choose between either privacy or security on Android devices, but not both,” commented technology projects director Peter Eckersley.