Intrusive Monitoring: Google Keeps Tabs on You, Even Through Other Users' Devices
In the modern digital age, the line between privacy and surveillance has become increasingly blurred, with tech giants like Google at the forefront of this shift. Here's a closer look at how Google's cross-device tracking technology works and the implications it has for user privacy.
Modern smartphones, including those from Google, are capable of performing on-device AI analysis of camera input, even when the user doesn't explicitly activate the camera. This remote monitoring can detect human heartbeat and pulse through walls, without requiring physical devices on the person. Google's surveillance extends to tracking voiceprints not only on personal devices but also on others' devices in close proximity.
The mere presence of a 2FA device under an account's umbrella binds the identity to hardware that Google tracks relentlessly. Google's cross-device tracking technology does not publicly use ultrasonic audio beacons and voiceprint biometrics for tracking users, according to the latest available information in 2025. Instead, Google's cross-device tracking primarily relies on features embedded in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which uses machine learning for enhanced cross-platform and cross-device tracking across apps and websites by linking user interactions via identifiers and behavior patterns.
While ultrasonic audio beacons and voiceprint biometrics can theoretically be used to track and identify users on devices, such methods raise significant privacy and ethical concerns. No current documentation from Google or developer specifications mention using these techniques specifically for tracking individuals across devices.
Google's ecosystem integrates these tracking methods with security measures like 2FA, voice assistants, and voiceprint biometrics, effectively eroding privacy and autonomy. Google's surveillance architecture links identities, devices, voices, and even presence near other people's devices, creating persistent cross-device and cross-person tracking. Two-factor authentication in Google's ecosystem links physical devices, their identifiers, accounts, and locations into a unified identity profile that is difficult to sever.
The technology is explored for continuous health monitoring and mood or stress analysis, raising privacy concerns as it allows intimate biometric data collection without explicit user consent or physical contact. For instance, 5G technology allows for remote, device-free pulse and heartbeat monitoring using high-frequency radio waves and AI. Researchers have demonstrated that by using multiple WiFi routers and advanced signal processing and machine learning algorithms, it is possible to reconstruct a 3D image of a person's shape and pose through walls.
The implications of these surveillance technologies are far-reaching. The most private moment today requires complete isolation from all digital surveillance, such as being deep inside a remote cave, where there's no way to collect telemetry like body movements, voice data, or behavioral patterns. In the current state, maintaining any meaningful privacy is nearly impossible due to pervasive digital surveillance embedded in normal living conditions.
The rise of cross-device tracking has sparked debate and concern among tech employees, with some risking careers to expose abuses and others enduring moral distress. Legal actions have highlighted Google's violation of consumer privacy laws and basic human rights protections related to privacy and surveillance.
However, it's important to note that meaningful reform through collective action and systemic change is a more practical solution than a complete reset, such as a natural disaster. Google's login and authentication systems are used by a vast number of websites and apps, making Google a gatekeeper to large parts of the internet and increasing user dependency on Google's ecosystem and tracking infrastructure.
In conclusion, while Google's cross-device tracking technologies offer convenience and improved functionality, they also pose significant privacy risks. It's crucial for users to be aware of these technologies and take steps to protect their privacy, such as using privacy-focused browsers and apps, enabling privacy settings, and staying informed about privacy policies and updates.
- The advancements in Google's cross-device tracking technology, which primarily relies on features in Google Analytics 4, have expanded beyond voiceprint biometrics and ultrasonic audio beacons, to include collecting intimate biometric data for healthcare purposes, such as continuous health monitoring and mood analysis, raising serious questions about user privacy and consent.
- In the intersection of healthcare, cybersecurity, and technology, Google's ever-evolving surveillance strategies, anchored in its cross-device tracking, have driven concerns about the conflict between digital progress and individual privacy, leading to increased scrutiny and legal actions against the tech giant for potential violations of consumer privacy laws and human rights protections.
