Cybersecurity Policy Report, Privacy Advocate Advises App Developers to Protect Location Data, (Aug 5, 2026)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is cautioning that developers using software development kits (SDKs) that make it easy to monetize their apps should beware of ad libraries that expose users’ location data.
EFF explained in a news release that “when developers let advertising SDKs collect location data, they’re putting users at risk of more than just creepy ads,” because “location information sourced from the advertising industry has been used for ICE investigations, global spy tools, outing a gay priest, tracking union organizers, and tracking US military personnel.”
EFF issued the warning after finding that several advertising SDKs had publicly acknowledged the collection and sharing of users’ location “by default when embedded in Android apps granted location permissions.” App developers that don’t pay close attention to the location sharing settings in their advertising tools “could inadvertently expose users’ location information,” EFF said. When that information is collected, it becomes part of a larger ecosystem that includes advertisers, ad tech companies, and location data brokers that “sell information on the precise movements of billions of people without their knowledge or meaningful consent,” it added.
Some apps partner directly with data brokers while others use “real-time bidding” (RTB) which allows data brokers to bid on ad space but also collect personal information contained in bid requests, it noted. Developers don’t have to share location data for it to be broadcast through RTB auctions because once a user grants permission to their location data in an app, SDKs embedded in the app receive the same access, EFF explained.
EFF’s report focuses on four SDKs to “illustrate how the design and documentation of advertising SDKs can facilitate location data sharing at scale.” The analysis by EFF “shows that advertising SDKs don’t just allow developers to share location data—they often encourage it.” EFF urges users to take extra steps to defend their location privacy but asserts that they shouldn’t have to because “developers, regulators, and legislators must act to stop apps from leaking users’ location to advertising companies and data brokers.”
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