Oracle claims Google exfiltrates 1GB of data from Android phones every month

Oracle gives evidence to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigation into Google

Google has been accused by software giant Oracle of exfiltrating up 1GB of data from Android phones every month without the explicit consent of users.

The claims were made by Oracle as part of evidence provided to an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigation into the internet giant, amid claims that Google is secretly tracking the movements of all Android users.

According to Australia's Daily Telegraph, ACCC chairman Rod Sims has been briefed by Oracle representatives, who made the claims. Oracle has been involved in a long-running dispute with Google over claims that the internet giant contravened Oracle's Java intellectual property rights.

Working for software firm Oracle, they believe that Google has been using one gigabyte of Android users' monthly mobile phone data to access their messages in the background.

Google then uses this information to help advertisers. However, users have not been made aware of this activity, and privacy officials believe that the tech firm could be abusing its position.

According to the Daily Telegraph, one gigabyte of data costs users as much as $4.50 per month. With more than ten million Australians using Android phones, they could be paying $580 million in unnecessary fees every year.

Oracle warned users that Google could also be accessing their location data even when they are not using GPS-enabled apps and if their phone is in aeroplane mode. The company has also claimed in the past that Google's Android data exfiltration activities go as far as recording the cell mast users' smartphones are connected to.

While Google is open about the fact that it uses location information in apps like Maps, the company is not so forthcoming about monitoring location information when these services are not being used.

With the EU General Data Protection Regulation set to come into force in just 11 days' time Google could also face further privacy investigations in Europe.

According to Oracle, Google is accessing information such as barometric pressure readings and coordinates, which could be used to work out whether someone is located outside or in a shopping centre.

Speaking to News Corp Australia, Sims said the watchdog is "looking into" the claims. He called the briefing "extremely interesting" and "valuable".

"The more we get into this inquiry the more we realise there are lots of issues (around) competition and privacy. Oracle are here because we are doing the market inquiry."

Computing has contacted Google for comment on the story and will update it as soon as we get a response