^This^

Any phone with Google apps installed usually defaults to tracking everything. So they'll push the phone owner user (we don't really own our phones -- our phones own us) to post a review for every store we visit or pass, and push related ads.

It's possible to set our phones to minimize this stuff, but Google tries to make it as difficult as possible to avoid being tracked.

But there are potential upsides to tracking.

I've enabled Google Maps Timeline tracking of all my activities. This provides a reasonably objective account of my whereabouts if I'm struck by a car, etc. The Google Timeline log can be downloaded or deleted, but we cannot modify it to falsify the log. So it *might* be admissible as evidence for an insurance settlement, etc. It confirmed my version of events when I was hit by a car three years ago. The police report wording was muddled and unclear about my direction of travel. But my Google Maps Timeline log confirmed my version, including the timestamp, etc.

It's a trade off. Just be fully informed about the pros and cons.

However if I was still a journalist, active duty military or working for the government, I might be wary of carrying a surveillance device on some assignments. For example, if I was still a reporter conducting a confidential interview and wanted to protect my source, I might leave my smartphone home or the office. Ditto, if I was still active duty military on some assignments, it would not be a good idea to log my PT routines to Strava and create a record of my daily movement patterns and habits.