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Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

gizmodo.com

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Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#121

Post by drusepth »

TuringNYC wrote: post #105
crb002 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people see the glass half full as they have evidence of their movements as an alibi should they need it.

Or half empty -- as evidence they were somewhere unfortunate (doing something totally benign and unrelated.)

Why would this be a concern?

At worst, you're somewhere unfortunate (doing something benign and unrelated) and someone brings you in for questioning about it. Wouldn't they do that in many cases even if your GPS was off (for example, from seeing you on cameras or other means)? It seems better to be able to bring in as many people as possible to get whatever information is needed to help with whatever situation was unfortunate in the first place.

If asked, it's not like you're going to lie and say you were somewhere else if your GPS was off. This way, you at least have proof you were exactly where you said you were.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#122

Post by ams6110 »

pxeboot wrote: post #6

by comparing the accelerometer and gyroscope readings of each phone, the data could identify when people were facing each other or walking together. More evidence we need far more privacy controls in mobile operating systems.

Or we can not install apps that do this kind of stuff.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#123

Post by patrickg_zill »

gdulli wrote: post #47
pxeboot wrote: post #6

by comparing the accelerometer and gyroscope readings of each phone, the data could identify when people were facing each other or walking together. More evidence we need far more privacy controls in mobile operating systems.

I've always been floored that people leave their location services turned on by default. I have mine on for no more than a few minutes a month. I only turn it on when I'm in an unfamiliar location, don't have my bearings, and looking at the map alone isn't enough to help without GPS.

I am actually going to buy a separate GPS for the car and disable as much as possible on the phone.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#124

Post by staplers »

gdulli wrote: post #47
pxeboot wrote: post #6

by comparing the accelerometer and gyroscope readings of each phone, the data could identify when people were facing each other or walking together. More evidence we need far more privacy controls in mobile operating systems.

I've always been floored that people leave their location services turned on by default. I have mine on for no more than a few minutes a month. I only turn it on when I'm in an unfamiliar location, don't have my bearings, and looking at the map alone isn't enough to help without GPS.

Cellular carriers sell your real-time GPS location even if you turn off your phone (GPS chips operate outside the network)

Proof: https://www.zdnet.com/article/us-cell-carriers-selling-acces...

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#125

Post by glandium »

gdulli wrote: post #47
pxeboot wrote: post #6

by comparing the accelerometer and gyroscope readings of each phone, the data could identify when people were facing each other or walking together. More evidence we need far more privacy controls in mobile operating systems.

I've always been floored that people leave their location services turned on by default. I have mine on for no more than a few minutes a month. I only turn it on when I'm in an unfamiliar location, don't have my bearings, and looking at the map alone isn't enough to help without GPS.

Fun fact: my Android phone battery was being sucked at a fast pace last month. I don't remember exactly how it presented itself in the UI, but I ended up figuring out that the Google app was the culprit, because it was using the GPS... which I had explicitly disabled.

An internet search showed I was not alone with such problems, and that the solution was to manually revoke some permissions for the app (thankfully it was possible).

I find it amazing that an app can make use of the GPS when it's disabled! I'm actually seriously pissed about it, but there's not much I can do about it.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#126

Post by jpfed »

caf wrote: post #82
vlovich123 wrote: post #3

What's the news story here? Tech companies file innumerable number of patents without implementing them to cover the space in case they get sued so they can retaliate. Realistically this patent wouldn't actually be useful in practice for the proposed application but would be useful if written carefully enough to countersue for unrelated applications of the tech.

I think what makes a little more sense is to see this as part of a moat-digging exercise. Building a large user graph from scratch is the major impediment to someone coming along and challenging Facebook. This kind of thing is trying to head off alternative ways to build that user graph.

One scenario that may allow another player to dethrone Facebook is with a service that provides value without absolutely requiring network effects.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#127

Post by drb91 »

nlh wrote: post #112

I was talking to a friend today who said, fairly succinctly, that Facebook's single biggest problem is that they Totally and Royally Suck(TM) at PR. I wonder what would happen if they were just straightforward about this. "Friends you May Know is really cool! We use your phone's location data and do cross-checks on your address book to make the most intelligent suggestions. We even use some unique features of your ca…

Actually enumerating what data might be used for strikes me as incredibly unlikely.

They could also come up with a more substantial business model.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#128

Post by spac »

glandium wrote: post #125
gdulli wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always been floored that people leave their location services turned on by default. I have mine on for no more than a few minutes a month. I only turn it on when I'm in an unfamiliar location, don't have my bearings, and looking at the map alone isn't enough to help without GPS.

Fun fact: my Android phone battery was being sucked at a fast pace last month. I don't remember exactly how it presented itself in the UI, but I ended up figuring out that the Google app was the culprit, because it was using the GPS... which I had explicitly disabled. An internet search showed I was not alone with such problems, and that the solution was to manually revoke some permissions for the app (thankfully it…

But you do have the option to purchase phones running operating systems that implement tighter and more credible controls. I believe that companies understand nothing better that consumer dollars.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#129

Post by beatgammit »

pxeboot wrote: post #6

by comparing the accelerometer and gyroscope readings of each phone, the data could identify when people were facing each other or walking together. More evidence we need far more privacy controls in mobile operating systems.

I don't want privacy controls, I want complete control.

I'm stoked about the Librem 5 project, and I hope it succeeds enough to not disappear in a couple years. I just bought a phone, but I'll likely buy the next rev if the first one works out. I don't need much from my phone, and as long as I can make/receive calls/texts, browse the web, and can get consistent security patches from the community (e.g. some Linux distro supports the platform outside of Purism), I'm happy.

Android and iOS already support privacy controls (and root to an extent), but you're usually at the mercy of the manufacturer for updates and have to trust them to not remotely access your phone. And many manufacturers just stop sending updates once their new model is out, which is unacceptable for most people for laptops and desktops, so I don't know why it's tolerated on phones and tablets...

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#130

Post by spac »

kraftman wrote: post #70
interfixus wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are being downvoted for this thoroughly sensible comment. At times, HN voting patterns actually scare me. My location too stays off unless I actively require it, mostly then for navigation. Yes, like just about any kind of countermeasure against anything, this one may sometimes introduce a measure of inconvenience. That's fine with me. No free lunch etc. [Edit: As somewhat expected, this comment on downvotes is i…

I didn't downvote, but if I did it would be for the 'I'm floored that people do [common thing that most people do]', rather than the fact they turn of their location services. As you said, there's no free lunch, but everyone is different and most people have decided that the benefits still outweigh the negatives. It's like saying "I'm floored that people go to starbucks when they could save so much money making coffe…

> As you said, there's no free lunch, but everyone is different and most people have decided that the benefits still outweigh the negatives.

There is an argument to be made most people may have made those decisions without fully understanding what the technologies can do and what the consequences are (e.g. the patents in the article). Case in points: my family.

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