Companies use smartphone locations to help advertisers and even hedge funds

Post by kop316 » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 7:09 PM UTC

isoprophlex wrote: post #141

kop316 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I respectfully disagree on Google being entirely transparent about tracking location, especially if you run Android + Google Play Services. I have a tablet (Pixel C) that runs LineageOS + Google Play Services and a Phone (Nexus 5x) that runs LineageOS vanilla (no MicroG, no UnifiedNLP, no Google Play Services). Some things I have noted: - When you install MicroG/Google Play Services, they take over location services…

The technical need for assisted GPS notwithstanding..: > - Android by default has the default on option to scan wifi and Bluetooth when you turn them off to find wifi/bluetooth and coorelate it to your location. What the actual fuck?!

Post by jakobegger » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 7:40 PM UTC

darren_ wrote: post #40

amaccuish wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Location history wasn't ever needed for remembering searches It absolutely was. When I tapped on the search bar, there were no results and it told me to turn on location history.

On iOS, location history absolutely was not required for this. Either its different on android google maps, or you're conflating web and app activity with location history.

Post by sa1 » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 7:53 PM UTC

zaroth wrote: post #121

bad_user wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's not talk past each other. An app can remember preferences and searches locally, without synchronizing them to a central server. Requiring that the server remembers those searches only if you agree to having your activity tracked is a dark pattern. Which is what we are talking about.

And this is very much still present in the latest version on my iPhone anyway. I still see a big prompt to turn on Web & App Activity I order to “Get the most from Maps” — which includes saving “Work” and “Home” favorites. Boo :-(

Post by rhcom2 » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 8:40 PM UTC

wlesieutre wrote: post #113

usefulcat wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, nor do they have a history. Though simplification can make things easier, it can also result in obfuscation, and it's often not obvious which is the better bargain in general.

Historically they didn't have a history, but there are "smart grid" electric meters that track energy usage on a smaller time scale, and privacy is an issue for those. If the lights in your living room total up to 85.5W, someone with access to fine grained power consumption logs can infer when you turned that light switch on or off. Similarly, there's going to be a telltale power consumption profile for when you're i…

Post by reaperducer » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 8:50 PM UTC

isoprophlex wrote: post #140

bad_user wrote: post #9

iOS now forcing "While Using" option on all apps is the greatest thing ever. Before this, some apps where forcing the "Always" option on users. Uber and Waze come to mind. iOS also gives you a warning from time to time about apps using your location in the background. I think iOS right now has the best location management. --- People are surprised when seeing the Activity section in Google's account details, then fre…

Strange, for me Google maps doesn't remember anything I searched for. It tells me to turn on location history. And I'm an EU citizen. Google can fuck right off with their location tracking. When I got my phone, it defaulted to asking me invasive questions about places I was visiting. The option to turn off those nag screens was hidden so deeply I felt compelled to neuter the entire shebang. Disgusting dark patterns.…