Google has posted an apology online for its collection of Wi-Fi data, with the company saying that the whole exercise was a mistake.Google’s Senior VP, Engineering & Research, Alan Eustace said, “A couple of years ago, Google started collecting Wi-Fi network information via our Street View cars to improve location-based services like search and maps.”
“In May, we announced that we had also mistakenly been collecting publicly broadcast payload data (information sent over the network). To be clear, we did not want and have never used any payload data in our products or services–and as soon as we discovered our error, we announced that we would stop collecting all Wi-Fi data via our Street View vehicles and removed all Wi-Fi reception equipment from them,” added Eustace.
“We welcome today’s conclusion of this investigation, and as a result we have committed to working even more closely with them going forward on the privacy implications of our product launches.”
“We want to reiterate to Australians that this was a mistake for which we are sincerely sorry. Maintaining people’s trust is crucial to everything we do and we have to earn that trust every single day. We are acutely aware that we failed badly here,” concluded Eustace.
