US EditionMeta found 'covertly tracking' Android users through Instagram and Facebook
- Researchers revealed in June 2025 that Meta and Yandex covertly tracked Android users by linking web browsing data to app identities through localhost ports.
- This technique exploited an Android loophole allowing apps to receive tracking data silently, bypassing privacy features like Incognito Mode and VPNs, with Yandex using it since 2017 and Meta starting in September 2024.
- Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica were embedded on millions of websites to send cookie and browsing metadata to apps including Facebook, Instagram, and Yandex Browser without user consent.
- Meta paused this tracking feature and is cooperating with Google to fix policy violations, while Chrome 137 introduced countermeasures on May 26, 2025 to block the related SDP Munging technique.
- This discovery highlights the need for stricter Android app oversight and enhanced privacy controls to prevent unauthorized data collection and protect user privacy.
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Google Going to Trial After Doing Something Super Sketchy to Android Users
In the information age, data is gold — and Google has enough to make King Midas blush. But in this new economic paradigm, all that data comes at a price: privacy lawsuits. To amass its wealth, Google's been caught collecting personal information from users even in incognito mode, tracking location data even when location tracking is off, collecting children's personal information in violation of child safety laws, and selling millions of America…
Android users with Instagram or Facebook on their phones have been spied on in a big way. Meta, the parent company behind those apps, has been able to watch which websites you visit for years, even if it was via other apps or in incognito mode.
Android users who have apps like Instagram or Facebook on their phones have been secretly tracked for years. Researchers from Radboud University and others discovered that parent company Meta could accurately track users' surfing behavior, even if they were browsing the internet via other apps or in the so-called incognito mode (hidden mode).
Sky News UK
ycombinator.comMeta found 'covertly tracking' Android users through Instagram and Facebook
Google says Meta and search engine company Yandex used Android capabilities "in unintended ways that blatantly violate our security and privacy principles".
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