Is this a big deal? I almost always turn GPS off anyway. I turn GPS on when I am travelling, and very occasionally for a minute if I use Google Map. GPS runs the battery down. Is GPS something most users leave turned on?
I thought the article would be about tracking via wifi use, which they probably do.
I suspect that most people don't understand much about location services and reference 'GPS' as the generic term for location tracking whether it's via GPS/Wifi/Cell tower/other. The bottom line is if your device has any sort of connectivity whatsoever that can geolocate your device, Google is using it. Off-line when it happens? No problem: they'll log it and upload the data when you reconnect.
Me! Always. Otherwise it'd always be running. Who would want that? I don't need to know my GPS location very often, so I see no reason to leave it enabled all the time - that might serve Google's interests but it definitely does not serve mine.
Me. It's like two clicks. It used to be one when I kept a widget for that purpose on my home screen. I also turn off bluetooth and wifi if I'm not using them.
Yes. I'm not sure how that's relevant. I'm not just "some user". I'm actually me, and I know what my actual behavior actually is. I'm just describing what I actually do, not prescribing what someone should do.
Before this I did, since it didn't do anything as long as no app requested GPS. (at least it did feel very much like a GPS in warm-up mode when I did use it once in a while, and it had no discernible effect on the battery)
I thought the article would be about tracking via wifi use, which they probably do.