Developers Must Beware of Ad Libraries that Betray Users’ PrivacySAN FRANCISCO – Some software development kits (SDKs) provided by advertising companies to help developers monetize their apps are automatically feeding users’ location data into systems that location data brokers use to track people, an Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) report found.  EFF began investigating the location-sharing practices of various advertising SDKs to better understand the pipeline from mobile apps to location data brokers. The probe revealed how such SDKs can facilitate and encourage location data sharing – without users’ knowledge or meaningful consent – through privacy-invasive defaults, financial incentives, and unclear documentation.     “Defaults matter, not just for users, but for app developers as well. If app developers don’t pay close attention to the location-sharing settings of their advertising tools, they could inadvertently expose users’ location information,” EFF Staff Technologist Lena Cohen said. “Users can take extra steps to defend their location privacy, but they shouldn’t have to. Developers, regulators, and legislators must act to stop apps from leaking users’ location to advertising companies and data brokers.”  Cohen and EFF Senior Staff Technologist Bill Budington reviewed the public developer documentation of dozens of widely used advertising SDKs to identify how they handle and communicate with developers about location[…]