*By Conor White*
Android and iPhone users looking for a way to hide from Google are in luck: it's possible to stop the tech giant's apps, including Google Maps, from tracking a device's whereabouts.
The Associated Press [reported](https://www.apnews.com/828aefab64d4411bac257a07c1af0ecb/AP-Exclusive:-Google-tracks-your-movements,-like-it-or-not) that Google was storing users' location and browsing data even after many people believed they had opted not to share that information by turning off "location history."
By doing some digging, Emily Dreyfuss, a senior writer at Wired, found [a solution](https://www.wired.com/story/google-location-tracking-turn-off/), if you have the patience to navigate the innermost settings pages of your Google apps.
* Open a browser to access your Google account settings.
* The setting is buried under "personal information."
* Go to your activity log and look for "Web and App Activity."
* Turn the setting off.
Dreyfuss said in an interview with Cheddar that users would still be able to use location-based apps like Lyft and Uber, but Google won't be able to track and store information about where the device has been.
"You can still have location on, on your iPhone or your Android, as long as in your Google account settings you have turned off 'Web and Activity Tracking,'" she said.
Recent revelations about the ways in which Facebook, Google, and other technology companies track, store, and share users' personal data has increased consumers' desire to safeguard their privacy. Dreyfuss said that concern led to the latest discovery about Google's methods.
"We all have this sense that we don't know when our location is being used or why," she said. "That's what was so creepy about this, even when we thought that we had turned it off, this is confirmation that we're not as in control as we thought."
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjIwNDk=).
Facebook parent company Meta reported weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, and also issued disappointing guidance for Q1 2022. The tech giant is also under pressure due to Apple's iOS privacy change, as well as continued multi-billion dollar losses for its metaverse focused business unit. Angelo Zino, Tech Analyst at CFRA Research, joins Closing Bell to discuss the earnings results, how Apple's iOS privacy change will impact revenue, whether the metaverse is an underrated investment opportunity, and more.
The video game industry has seen monumental growth the past few years - with an increasing amount of companies jumping head first into the space. In January alone, Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard, game publisher Take-Two agreed to buy Zynga, and most recently, Sony announced it has agreed to buy game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. Tobias Batton, CEO and founder of Ex Populus, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss the surge in M&A activity in the gaming space.
Facebook parent Meta reported disappointing results in its first quarterly earnings report since rebranding to focus on the metaverse. The tech giant delivered mixed results with quarterly profit falling well below Wall Street expectations. Shares plunged more than 20 percent in after hours trading as a result. Martin Garner, COO of CCS Insight, joined Cheddar Movers to break down the company's results.
Super Group, the company behind leading global online sports betting and gaming businesses Betway and Spin, has landed on Wall Street. The company went public via SPAC with Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp., and now lists on the NYSE under the ticker symbol 'SGHC.' This debut comes as the U.S. sports betting market continues to heat up with more and more states legalizing the practice. Eric Grubman, chairman of Super Group, joined Cheddar to discuss.
Miami wants to be the crypto capital of the world. Mayor Francis Suarez has gone all in on the blockchain, even accepting one of his first paychecks in Bitcoin, hosting one of the world's largest digital cryptocurrency conferences, and marketing Miami as a great place for tech experts to work. Maja Vujinovic, managing director of OGroupLLC, joined Cheddar's Fast Forward to discuss Miami's enthusiasm toward crypto, some of the potential risks that entails, and where the city might be heading when it comes to the crypto takeover.
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of HereAfter AI discusses how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed; Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover' explains how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Humboldt Current.'
James Vlahos, Co-Founder and CEO of HereAfter AI, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed.
