SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google wants to know where you go so badly that it records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.
          An Associated Press investiga

Android phones gather your location data and send it to Google, even if you’ve turned off location services and don’t have a SIM card, Quartz reported today.

The start-up Alphonso collects viewing data for advertisers through mobile gaming apps that can track users on the devices’ microphones, even when the apps aren’t in use.

Some smartphone games are listening to what your mic picks up — but not to hear what you say. Instead, they’re trying to hear what you’re watching.
This is something smartphone apps have been doing...

Android phones are tracking your location even if you actively turn off location services, haven't used any apps, and haven't even inserted a carrier SIM card.

Pry-Fi will prevent your device from announcing all the networks it knows to the outside world, but it will still allow background scanning and automatically connecting to Wi-Fi networks. While you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, the MAC address will constantly be pseudo-randomized, following a pattern that still makes the trackers think you are a real person, but they will not encounter your MAC address again. This will slowly poison their tracking database with useless information.