Is your Pixel 9 Pro XL sharing your data with Google? Google says no

It’s not uncommon these days to have devices and online services collect your data. Sometimes it’s obvious and the companies are upfront about it. But in the case of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, a recent investigation claims that the device is sharing sensitive user data with Google.

This is according to a recent investigative report from researchers over at Cybernews. The report claims that the phone sends a data packet to Google every 15 minutes. This data packet contains information such as location data, your phone number, your email, and network status. They discovered this using a “man in the middle” technique which intercepts data between the phone and Google’s servers.

Before you get too alarmed, note that this data sharing practice isn’t isolated to just Google and the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Other Android devices and even Apple’s devices do send similar data back to the companies. The problem that the report seems to take issue with is the lack of consent from users.

Google has since denied the report. The company notes that the report misses out on “crucial context” and “misinterprets technical aspects”. They also point out that sometimes data is needed for things like software updates, personalized experiences, and more. Google mentions that there are also settings that users can explore when it comes to managing data sharing and app permissions.