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Google will update Maps to prevent authorities from accessing location history data

In this photo illustration, the Google Maps logo is seen on
Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Google will soon store Maps users’ location history locally on their devices instead of in the cloud, a big change that will make it more difficult for law enforcement to access the data.

Controversial “geofence warrants” allow law enforcement to gather tech companies’ data on mobile phones that have passed through a certain area during a specific time period. The FBI has used the warrant to collect information about a Black Lives Matters protest in Seattle as part of an investigation into attempted arson, for instance.

With privacy concerns and the potential for geofence warrants to turn anyone at the scene of an alleged crime a potential suspect, Google has faced pressure for years to change the way it stores users’ location history....

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