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My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

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Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#51

Post by saiya-jin »

tome wrote: post #22
raxxorrax wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He consented to the collection and Apple would have exactly the same issues. Also Android is marginally more useful than an iOS device. I know that it is fancy as a music player and social media apps, but it isn't really what it could be.

> He consented to the collection and Apple would have exactly the same issues. Would it? In iOS you can selectively forbid applications from using locations services.

so can you in Android... well guess what, it doesn't add any feeling of security on my chinese phone (and for any non-US person, chinese or american are the same - foreign powers gathering all data possible, which may or may not be used against you in the future).

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#52

Post by pjc50 »

eternalban wrote: post #38
mmgu wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Journalist behind article.) Thank you! I can say that it is not easy to use subject access requests to get information. Without the help of Michael Veale’s template and a lot of grit, I don’t think I would have made it. Transparency is just a first step, but it is a powerful tool.

You wrote: " It is uncanny to follow my own steps, even though they do not divulge any romantic affair, secret meetings, or embarrassing health issues. " Contact tracing addresses that shortcoming of the current surveillance tech. Today, finding out that 2 cell phones have been in proximity requires computationally expensive analytics on the server side. With the apparently mandated requirement for contact tracing, e…

> Today, finding out that 2 cell phones have been in proximity requires computationally expensive analytics on the server side.

No, you just have to use the right data structures. Quadtree is the obvious one if you have lat/long, or if you have cell history you can observe that e.g. the UK only has ~25,000 base stations, so you can just use them as buckets. It's probably too expensive to run on every ad load, but for targeted surveillance it's easy.

Contact tracing will go away middle of next year with the end of the pandemic. Although I wouldn't rule out its reactivation next time there's a SARS or bird flu breakout.

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#53

Post by mistermann »

> Venntel told me in a subject access request that my data was shared, but they did not provide to whom. When contacted later - they told me in a short statement that the data was not shared with ICE or CBP.

I think this is an extremely clever technique for generating mainstream interest in a topic that would probably otherwise be considered boring for the typical person: associate it with something that people have very strong emotional feelings about. 10/10

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#54

Post by loa_in_ »

bjarneh wrote: post #13

> “I agree,” I pressed. We had now made a binding agreement, the app and I. I hate this whole premise. We have to agree to an incomprehensible text wall of vague legal nonsense, that very often violate our own laws (as in this case), in order to install an app. These illegal contracts are completely void of any meaning, and it should not matter that you "agreed" to be screwed over like that. Being screwed over like t…

You as a user can choose to uninstall it immediately and try alternatives until successful.

Most people of course, akin to how paying with card makes you overspend because you don't see the money, agree to anything because it's just a button on the screen not a potentially predatory human person.

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#56

Post by ben-schaaf »

tome wrote: post #22
raxxorrax wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He consented to the collection and Apple would have exactly the same issues. Also Android is marginally more useful than an iOS device. I know that it is fancy as a music player and social media apps, but it isn't really what it could be.

> He consented to the collection and Apple would have exactly the same issues. Would it? In iOS you can selectively forbid applications from using locations services.

> In iOS you can selectively forbid applications from using locations services.

The same is true on Android. I have location services denied on the browser I'm typing this from.

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#57

Post by mistermann »

bjarneh wrote: post #13

> “I agree,” I pressed. We had now made a binding agreement, the app and I. I hate this whole premise. We have to agree to an incomprehensible text wall of vague legal nonsense, that very often violate our own laws (as in this case), in order to install an app. These illegal contracts are completely void of any meaning, and it should not matter that you "agreed" to be screwed over like that. Being screwed over like t…

I wouldn't over worry about such things. If it was that big of a deal, the government would be "on it".

After all, is Democracy not the best mechanism possible for executing the aggregate will of the people? And would the will of the people not be to not be tracked in this manner?

I predict this undesirable situation will be eliminated in less than one year - or, in case it is more complicated than it seems (and therefore takes more time to resolve), will at least have significant attention from both the government and the media until it is resolved to the satisfaction of voters.

I will keep my eyes open for an upcoming entry for this matter on the "Top 10,000 Concerns of the General Public" KPI tracker where we monitor matters of public concern like this, and I will use 10 of my monthly allocated voting units to express my level of concern.

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#58

Post by karlp »

mattmanser wrote: post #40
gzer0 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The TOS of any European company cannot supersede the law of the European Union. Example; how one individual singlehandedy forced the hands of Spotify to reverse an API decision they made blocking the export of your playlists. Note how Spotify thinks their TOS supersedes the GDPR. It does not. Otherwise, we would have corporations directly creating laws. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24764371

The trouble with the GDPR seems to be that it relies on government enforcement. For example the UK's enforcement arm, the ICO, recently found that the adtech industry was in violation of the GDPR, then did nothing: https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/the-ico-must-fix-the-ad... As far as I know, I can't personally sue these companies for this, and if the ICO does nothing then what's the law is meaningless. The follow…

> As far as I know, I can't personally sue these companies for this, and if the ICO does nothing then what's the law is meaningless.

Couldn't you sue ICO then?

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#59

Post by 1f60c »

robin_reala wrote: post #33
miguendes wrote: post #28

Interesting article. Is there any way to mitigate the amount of data collected? If I turn GPS off can they still track my steps? One thing that I notice frequently is discussing some topic with my wife and then finding an AD related to the topic on Instagram, LinkedIn, and whatnot. Could be a coincidence but I not sure any more.

On iOS at least you can allow an app access to location data only while the app is in use (or not at all). Not sure what the situation is on Android.

And, in iOS 14, you can also grant an app access to “imprecise” location data, which reduces its accuracy from about 20 feet to 2 miles.

Re: My Phone Was Spying on Me, So I Tracked Down the Surveillants

#60

Post by rurban »

raxxorrax wrote: post #18
tF73d78kq8t3R6n wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let’s not beat around the bush here: this is a uniquely Android problem. Sure, there are some iOS jailbreaks out in the wild, but these are very few and far between. There was one for then-recent iOS versions earlier this year, but it came many years after the previous jailbreak of that kind. Superuser access to my iOS device isn’t something I need to worry about. But if I ran Android? It would be a real threat.

He consented to the collection and Apple would have exactly the same issues. Also Android is marginally more useful than an iOS device. I know that it is fancy as a music player and social media apps, but it isn't really what it could be.

He consented to the collection only for marketing purposes, but explicitly not to be forwarded to/bought by criminal US government agencies.
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