Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
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Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#2This is the report the article is based on
https://guardianapp.com/ios-app-location-report-sep2018.html
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#3Stories like this, the Uber story, and the recent one about Google tracking location even when you opt out, are why I'm looking forward to Purism 5 with PureOS and kill switches.
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#4How do researchers find this information? Presumably the apps are using encrypted network connections to submit your location data to surveillance backends. Is guardianapp reversing each application using jail broken devices? Using an iOS emulator to inspect the running app?
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#5Stories like this, the Uber story, and the recent one about Google tracking location even when you opt out, are why I'm looking forward to Purism 5 with PureOS and kill switches.
I am really hoping that one day we can legislate respect for privacy and be able to use mass produced widely available hardware and software.
A solution for a few outliers doesn’t really influence the big picture.
I am very interested in what individuals/institutions support privacy at scale.
I am aware of the EFF. Who else?
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#6How do researchers find this information? Presumably the apps are using encrypted network connections to submit your location data to surveillance backends. Is guardianapp reversing each application using jail broken devices? Using an iOS emulator to inspect the running app?
Lots of ways
1. You can inspect HTTPS traffic by installing a trusted MITM cert on your device - no jailbreaking necessary.
2. You can inspect the libraries provided by the owners of tracking endpoints to see what they collect and transfer.
3. Decompiling app bundles is usually pretty effective, and you can download them straight from iTunes.
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#7I’m confused. On iPhone you control which apps get location data. You also get warnings on the top of the screen when an app is using your location.
How are these apps getting around that?
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#8My company analyzes iOS and Android apps en mass, using static and dynamic analysis. We've partnered with several major universities to provide data like this about apps. If any reseachers are interested in this data, please feel free to reach out.
For location in particular, we see which location collection permissions the app has, as well as indirect methods like Bluetooth and Wifi. We also see the commercial integrations, like the companies named in the article.
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#9I’m confused. On iPhone you control which apps get location data. You also get warnings on the top of the screen when an app is using your location. How are these apps getting around that?
I don't know if it's possible anymore, but one way used to be that the app would send a list of every wifi network it could see. This can be used to calculate your position surprisingly accurately, in most places in the world.
Re: Popular iPhone apps caught sending user location data to monetization firms
#10I’m confused. On iPhone you control which apps get location data. You also get warnings on the top of the screen when an app is using your location. How are these apps getting around that?
If you read the article, they do all ask for your location, but say they will use it non-nefariously.