This is not a new or hidden feature. It has been in Android for at least the past three major versions. The feature is clearly available in the lock screen options so to call it a "hidden feature" is completely wrong.
The feature uses the accelerometer that's built in to the phone to detect movement so it can keep the lock screen open while you are moving. Your phones have been tracking your movement and types of movement for generations now so if this scares you, you are late to the game.
I remember seeing this feature on my old Android 5 phone years ago. It likely uses the accelerometer. I know Google uses that for logging location history to save battery so it doesn't have to check GPS as often when the phone is sitting still.
Accelerometer and gyro aren't great for any sort of tracking by themselves either, unless you have geo-location with GPS or wifi signals to get an absolute location first.
They are used to track activity levels moreso than location. But you're right it's greatly enhanced with location. For example, for advertisers, if you're at school and physically active, this implies you are athletic.
Um, I didn't mean "location tracking". The purpose of the feature is movement tracking which can tell if you are sitting/standing still, walking, running or travelling by vehicle. That's already plenty of intrusion into your personal information. GPS only makes it way worse for actual location tracking, but it's not needed by this feature.
I know what you meant, I was just posting that normies probably think that this feature is what tracks their location.
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