Google apologises for using its cars to snoop on private internet use

Google has apologised for mistakenly spying on people's private internet use over a four-year period through its Street View cars.

The internet giant has been driving around the country taking pictures of the roads to enhance its online maps service, but had also been covertly gathering information on private Wi-Fi networks.

The information was taken through an antennae attached to the cars, which recorded information from any unsecured Wi-Fi network, public or private. The information could include parts of emails, photos or even the browsing history of the network.