Caption: Some locations that Google associated with Wi-Fi devices spotted in a San Francisco coffeeshop.
Google has taken steps to limit the disclosure of the locations of millions of iPhones, laptops, and other devices with Wi-Fi connections after a CNET article drew attention to privacy concerns.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company's move comes after it was criticized for the way it made a database assembled by Android phones and Street View cars available to the public, even though it could link a geographical location with a unique hardware address of a Wi-Fi enabled device. The change means that Google now appears to be moving closer to the approach adopted by Apple and Microsoft, which never their location databases public.
A source close to Google said some changes have been made to the way Google's location server processes location requests. A Google spokesman declined to comment.
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