A class-action lawsuit was filed Wednesday against Microsoft, claiming that software on the Windows Phone 7 tracked and stored location data for up to a year, despite attempts to turn the function off, and despite the company’s claims that it collects geolocation data only with user consent. (Buried lede here: someone bought a Windows phone!)
Obviously, the tracking and storing of location data has been a big issue this past year, with iPhones and Androids found to be doing the same thing. Their defense was that they were tracking which access points you used to connect online so those connections could be easier and so that they knew where to put new access points.
The litigation, brought on behalf of a Windows Phone 7 user, claims Microsoft transmits data — including approximate latitude and longitude coordinates of the user’s device — while the camera application is activated. It seeks an injunction and punitive damages, among other remedies.
Bug? Secret plot? Microsoft has yet to comment.
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