Use FOSS as much as possible, pressure you gov to implement laws against tracking (against what Snowden showed us).
There is no need to know the location and history, and the communication of everyone everywhere.
Location tracking of phones is out of control. Here’s how to fight back.
Submitted 4 weeks ago by misk@sopuli.xyz to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I hope Google gets split up, that’ll probably be the beginning of the end for targeted ads (I would hope)
Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
I wouldn’t think thats how they are splitting it up … Basically just affecting market shares of some markets (targeted ads being one of them + the ecosystem pushing you into it).
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think generally speaking these privacy articles fail to convince the majority of people that there’s a problem, which is crucial to be able to sell the solution.
I think the abortion part is the most relatable, but you’ll hear them say they’ve got nothing to hide. I believe getting access to that data and show people what data they have on them would be the most effective. It’s like saying to someone that has nothing to hide “oh yeah? Give me your phone and your documents, let me browse what’s on them”
Tire@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
People can be irrational like that. But I bet if there’s a really successful horror movie where the killer finds the victim’s location from photos then people will care.
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I feel like this needs to be real, not a movie. Not someone who gets killed, just someone who sees their own data
ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
“Don’t worry I’m just gonna do the same thing your spying apps do. Let’s see here, oh these are some interesting texts, hey pictures, ooohhh a nude well let me just “anonymize” this by removing the metadata (close enough) and I’ll just send that to my “server” (it’s my phone)… Why? Well so I can more effectively sell you things of course! It looks like you need clothes, check out these pants from Target and this shirt from H&M, don’t you wanna buy them? No? Well ok, here check out those exact same fucking things but this time from Walmart and Macy’s!”
cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 4 weeks ago
Don’t just give location access to any app that requests it, especially background location access.
lemmeBe@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Even my taxi apps receive/lose location access automatically on open/close.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Yup. The only app I have that always has location access is Organic Maps. Other than that, apps need to ask for access, and most have it completely disabled.
Wooki@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
And wifi And BT And list goes on.
xylogx@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
A lot of great comments here. I just wanted to add that even just your ip address is enough to roughly track your location. When your phone checks gmail you are leaving digital breadcrumbs in Google’s logs of your ip address which roughly tracks your location. App permissions will not solve this. We need strong privacy regulations with teeth.
pineapplelover@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
And then there’s wifi triangulation and Bluetooth which narrows it down further
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
And this is why my GPS and Bluetooth are disabled 99% of the time unless I’m actually using them. It cuts down on a lot of potential data leakage.
WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
A VPN helps
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
There are still attacks that can get around the VPN. It certainly helps, but it’s not a complete solution on its own like VPN providers would like you to believe.
ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Yes, I am in Sweden, totally, believe it ipaddr checkers!
PriorityMotif@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yes and no, when I check my actual IP address it shows that it’s somewhere pretty far away, I guess that’s where my carrier has their trunk connected.
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I have my location turned off for everything and keep mine in a Faraday bag.
It feels good when I have to use it and, for a moment it says “no service”, like kicking the tech assholes in the dick.
vinyl@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Damn I had advertising id disabled ever since I had been using any online account
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That’s good. I wasn’t even aware such a thing existed, but thankfully I know now.
electronVolt@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Do you have a recommendation for a Faraday bag? I am looking to get a few.
Hacksaw@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
If your phone is in a Faraday bag how would you get phone calls?
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Just that the cheap ones suck. I got a two-pack from Walmart and the first one I used started falling apart in weeks.
I’d get one handmade off Etsy. They’re a little pricier, but the less expensive ones are garbage.
BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one 4 weeks ago
Why does Microsoft Remote Desktop app need my GPS location from my phone?
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Reverse justification answer: to more securely verify your identity when signing into your Microsoft account
Real answer: selling ads and building a free database for Microsoft that accurately maps IP address->physical location
VintageTech@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I don’t think enough people have mentioned that Auto manufacturers have been able to locate vehicles since the 90’s.
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
How did they do it tech wise?
VintageTech@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Originally the D.A.I.R. project (Driver Aid, Information and Routing) was conceptualized in the 60’s. It wasn’t until Hughes assisted EDS in the 90’s that they were able to create a beacon that could communicate via Satellite and Cellular.
I myself didn’t realize this was a thing until about a decade ago when I was trying to create an automation for my lights to turn on when I pulled into my driveway. I kept getting a ping about 5min after my phone connected to my WiFi. The MAC matched nothing I had in the house, I just blew it off.
When an associate stopped by to work on a HoneyPot project we started seeing a bunch of random MACs attempt to connect to the open wifi, we wrote that noise off as people walking by my house and their cell phones were just trying to connect. It wasn’t until the garbage man showed up and stopped to talk to me that I was able to find his truck listed with an address connected to the open wifi, sent a few packets, then left. We made the correlation that the MAC’s could be from cars so we started researching the manufacturer of those device MAC’s
That pretty much opened a weird rabbit hole leading us to find out that almost every car has been tracked since the mid-90’s.
Joking aside, I would move to Amish country if it weren’t for the whiskey and bitches. But in all honesty; my family lives a much more comfortable life than I ever imagined I would with working in the IT field.
AA5B@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Same as today, but slower.
GM’s OnStar was notorious for this. I think the first version had a 2G cell modem
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I’m pretty sure my car doesn’t have tracking, and it’s from the mid 2000s. Phoning home wasn’t standard until relatively recent car models. I could absolutely be wrong though, but my understanding is that any wireless capabilities it has are limited to close proximity (i.e. tire pressure sensors and the like).
VintageTech@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Standard in 2008 If the auto manufacturer offered OnStar or Sirius, earlier.
I wish it wasn’t true, and I definitely feel like a nut job when I bring it up.
mindaika@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I sure hope so. Pretty hard to sell cars if you don’t even know where they are
Imhotep@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I loved xprivacy_lua
You could hide almost everything
no app knew the other apps i used
no app had clipboard access. when i needed to paste something i used xposed edge
you could spoof a lot of info, gps coordinates, imei …
the list goes on
support stopped. i should check if there’s a fork
MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
f-droid.org/…/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager/
Select app, tap “# trackers” tpp left, tap “Block trackers”.
Needs root.
IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Don’t give location access. Really not that hard.
slumberlust@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
In case you are not just trolling, you need to do way more to stay anonymous in the modern area.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
Years and years ago, they discovered that Google was still tracking your location, even with location disabled. That’s because Google created a surveillance network using your friends’ phones. Your friends’ phones would find local WiFi connections, and report them back to Google, along with associated GPS data. Then Google used this to make a sort of WiFi map. So now Google can tell where you are without ever getting any actual “location data”.
humblebun@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Dismantle the GPS chip. This is the only way
napoleonsdumbcousin@feddit.org 4 weeks ago
Stop spreading rumours.
Just disable the location permissions.
humblebun@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Do you know that Pegasus software now has an unlimited license?
Drunemeton@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
One thing I am always aware of are apps that want permission to access Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi and/or Networks.
Even though Bluetooth is very short ranged it can still be used to tie you into a location within a database based on other database records that are more detailed.
Yeah, I love playing you “My Great Dog-sitting Simulator” (not a real app) but you do not need access to my BT. The OS handles sending your audio to my headphones!
asbestos@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Teams is the worst, you can’t join any call if you don’t allow it to scan your local network. I wish the executives a very nice and agonizing death.
toynbee@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I haven’t done an extensive survey or anything, but every modern router I’ve interacted with supports setting up a secondary WiFi network with guest isolation (so anything on that SSID can’t see any network device besides the router and itself). This is useful for apps or hardware that is untrusted and/or demands unjustified permissions.
01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
On what device? I have Nearby Devices and Location disallowed on Android, and it still works fine.
Side note. Teams is the worst. Just, period.
toynbee@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I remember when Bluetooth started demanding location permissions. You’ll never convince me that it’s functionally required or provides any benefit other than furthering efforts to spy on the user.
When it started being rolled out, I avoided any app or hardware that made that demand. Sadly, that’s no longer an option if I want any Bluetooth at all.
scrion@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
It’s not like Bluetooth started demanding location permissions, the conceptual model of the permission was revised: having access Bluetooth means an app could determine your location via a form of lateration.
In earlier versions of smartphone operating systems, this was not transparent to users lacking the technical background, so Bluetooth also requiring location access is actually an honest attempt at making users aware of that. I’m not an iOS developer, so I can’t comment on iPhones, but on Android versions prior to 11, having access to Bluetooth meant an app would be able to determine your location.
Today, you can require the permission
ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, which expresses that your app might use Bluetooth to obtain location information on Android. Also, if you’re just scanning for nearby devices to connect your app to, but don’t want users to be confused why your smart fridge app needs to know your precise location, you can declare a permission flag (neverForLocation) and Android will strip beacon information from the scan results, better asserting your intentions.helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
Whaaat? I definitely use Bluetooth without location services, and always have?