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Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

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Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#21

Post by notyourday »

Someone1234 wrote: post #11
parthdesai wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Explain China then. Apple is being hypocritical in this case. Giving in to the demands of government when it hurts their business ( if it did take privacy as seriously as HN makes it out to be, they would take a stand in China) while advocating privacy in Western world.

Explain what with China? Apple are legally required to follow the law of countries they do business in. In China the law requires that the government, not third party apps, gains access to additional information. Apple can limit third party app privacy violations while still following the law. The only stand Apple could take here is: - Stop selling in China - Have executives go to jail Just as if they violated US law…

So what you are saying that Apple's core beliefs are location-dependent.

Personally, I think it is totally cool to have location-dependent core beliefs. I just think it is a total fan-boism not to acknowledge it.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#22

Post by syncopate »

bob_theslob646 wrote: post #18
AznHisoka wrote: post #12

Does this include apps like Foursquare/Swarm that sell aggregated location data to hedge funds? [1] ...or are the big players exempt from the rules of the game? [1] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/290543

This is another article that talks about how they actually do what the parent comment talks about. > When someone checks in to a place on Swarm, Foursquare's newer app, the company records the user's coordinates, helping it determine all the different coordinates associated with a single business or other place. > Foursquare says it can't disclose who its partners are, or how many different smartphone users' data it…

Isn't that called geofencing? It's been around for years. I always felt that the main reason e.g. Facebook wants you to use their app is to be able to supply data for conversions of geofencing ad campaigns, e.g. someone saw an ad for a promotion at some burger place and then actually came to close proximity of their wlan.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#23

Post by gepeto42 »

walterbell wrote: post #17
gepeto42 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it was supposed to be - https://developer.apple.com/documentation/networkextension/n... Around iOS 9, Apple deprecated some of the Captive Portal APIs, then re-instated them, a lot of changes that went back and forth, but my conclusion is that today, years later, way too many apps seem to read my SSID. Doesn't really matter how they do it, but I wish there was a prompt for it and no way for an app to directly f…

Any downside to using a common SSID, https://www.wigle.net/stats#ssidstats ?

The BSSID can be read too, so I don't think it's worth trying to figure out ways to add some obscurity to the SSID (no matter what downsides would come with that).

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#24

Post by MBCook »

Rjevski wrote: post #13

Finally. I wish third-party analytics would be next. A lot of apps are using analytics from companies who’s business model is inherently incompatible with privacy (Facebook & Google) and that concerns me.

The speculation is this is GDPR motivates, hopefully it will cause a crackdown on that stuff too.

The fact Apple added a framework to help with analytics (IIRC) may be the first step towards REQUIRING people to only use that framework instead of 3rd party stuff so they can be sure it’s compliant with laws/Apple’s policies as well.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#25

Post by hungerstrike »

parthdesai wrote: post #6
maire wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple always took location privacy seriously. I remember an interview between Steve Jobs and Walt Mossberg years ago on this subject. I looked it up again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39iKLwlUqBo

Explain China then. Apple is being hypocritical in this case. Giving in to the demands of government when it hurts their business ( if it did take privacy as seriously as HN makes it out to be, they would take a stand in China) while advocating privacy in Western world.

Apple is just like any other western company - their shareholders and chiefs don't really give a fuck about privacy. They only care about their bottom line.

If China demanded that someone from your company sacrifice a new-born baby in order to do business there, I'm positive that we'd still have many, many western companies doing business in China.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#26

Post by abc_lisper »

notyourday wrote: post #21
Someone1234 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Explain what with China? Apple are legally required to follow the law of countries they do business in. In China the law requires that the government, not third party apps, gains access to additional information. Apple can limit third party app privacy violations while still following the law. The only stand Apple could take here is: - Stop selling in China - Have executives go to jail Just as if they violated US law…

So what you are saying that Apple's core beliefs are location-dependent. Personally, I think it is totally cool to have location-dependent core beliefs. I just think it is a total fan-boism not to acknowledge it.

Umm. No. I don’t wear the same clothes in a desert and a forest. To do so would be foolish. Imposing yourself on others when you have no power to do is not wise. I can keep my house clean but can’t expect everyone in my neighborhood to do so.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#27

Post by throwaway080383 »

chimeracoder wrote: post #19
walterbell wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any downside to using a common SSID, https://www.wigle.net/stats#ssidstats ?

> Any downside to using a common SSID, https://www.wigle.net/stats#ssidstats ? From the documentation, it's not clear to me if apps have permission to see either other nearby SSIDs or the names of other networks that the device has previously connected to. If the app has access to either one of those, it's equivalent to being given location data. Furthermore, last I checked, both iOS and Android broadcast the list of…

As the sibling commenter said, you typically can access connected BSSID's which are essentially unique.

However, to answer your question, on iOS there is no API for accessing nearby not-connected wifi, and on Android it exists but I believe it requires location permission.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#28

Post by SEJeff »

If you're worried about analytics and tracking / ads on your iPhone, consider installing Disconnect's Privacy Pro:

https://lifehacker.com/disconnect-pro-eliminates-tracking-on...

It costs a few $$, but sets up a VPN profile that is generally always on. It just blocks all of the ads / "web bugs" / analytics stuff and gives you a UI to show how much. Apple cracking down is a good thing, but so is defense in depth. It estimates that it has blocked 8Mb of crap being downloaded on my phone just today.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#29

Post by 0xCMP »

notyourday wrote: post #21
Someone1234 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Explain what with China? Apple are legally required to follow the law of countries they do business in. In China the law requires that the government, not third party apps, gains access to additional information. Apple can limit third party app privacy violations while still following the law. The only stand Apple could take here is: - Stop selling in China - Have executives go to jail Just as if they violated US law…

So what you are saying that Apple's core beliefs are location-dependent. Personally, I think it is totally cool to have location-dependent core beliefs. I just think it is a total fan-boism not to acknowledge it.

It's not a location dependent core belief. The Chinese laws make it this way. Apple is not a sovereign government with the right to do as they please. They operate in the rules and under the same threat of force everyone else does in every nation they operate.

That we live in an area of the world where you can choose to make the decisions they do without serious repercussions should make you pause and think about how important the checks we have are, because in China there aren't many ways to get around the problem above besides ignoring the largest developing market in the world.

Re: Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties

#30

Post by pdimitar »

SEJeff wrote: post #28

If you're worried about analytics and tracking / ads on your iPhone, consider installing Disconnect's Privacy Pro: https://lifehacker.com/disconnect-pro-eliminates-tracking-on... It costs a few $$, but sets up a VPN profile that is generally always on. It just blocks all of the ads / "web bugs" / analytics stuff and gives you a UI to show how much. Apple cracking down is a good thing, but so is defense in depth. It e…

I've been pretty happy with 1Blocker Legacy but I never actually confirmed it really blocks trackers (creators claim it does).

Thanks for the link, I'll consider buying.

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