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Telegram publishes users' locations online

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Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#141

Post by SergeAx »

gruez wrote: post #6

>[Line] fixed it by adding a random number to the user's destination This is a imperfect solution. There's two possibilities: the offset (aka "random number") is dynamic, or it's fixed. If it's the former all you have to do is sample enough times to get through the noise. If it's the latter, it's not vulnerable to the previous attack, but if you have a known point of reference (so you can deduce what the offset is),…

Adding a fixed error based on user's hashed data (so it is constant but different for every user) seems like a good enough solution, no?

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#142

Post by cookieswumchorr »

kome wrote: post #120
arthurcolle wrote: post #7

It's a shame that people still use Telegram when Signal is so much better, and has better credentials all around.

You can't use signal without a cellphone... and cellphones are a privacy nightmare.

for telegram you need a phone number as well, which is bad if not for security, then for privacy reasons

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#143

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

solarkraft wrote: post #100

- Clickbait headline - Of course this shouldn't be possible, what is up with Telegram? At last make publishing your precise location optional (within that feature) with a good warning!

But it is optional (you must press a button to enable it) and comes with a warning ...

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#144

Post by xenator »

arthurcolle wrote: post #7

It's a shame that people still use Telegram when Signal is so much better, and has better credentials all around.

There is person who put their 5c about Signal in every post about Telegram. Signal have terrible UI. And doesn't provide any additional value since your friends doesn't use it.

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#145

Post by xenator »

godelski wrote: post #98
jjcon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal has a terrible terrible ux - most people don’t care as much as the HN-er when it comes to security - they want a chat app that just works and is feature rich

What features are Signal missing? I think there's this weird dichotomy where people are complaining about a terrible UX and others not understanding what the issues are (me for one). Only features I've wanted have rolled out in the last few months or are about to roll out (>5 group calling and usernames).

Missing features: - your friends doesn't use it - there is no public channels you like - there is no bots you use every day - your code have no integration with messenger API

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#146

Post by midasz »

jlelse wrote: post #124
op03 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telegram is a business. Ads are coming this year. Signal is basically a non profit (so far). Thats all I need to know to make a choice given the track record of the robotic buffoon class that believe everything that momentarily scales up needs to be monetized asap to shit out one mindless billionaire here and there.

Ads are only coming to public channels were channel owners already publish ad messages. Signal is located in USA, so it's quite easy for NSA et al to pressure Signal to implement backdoors.

This comment is downvoted but as a person in the EU I can wholly agree with it. It's not that I never use american made/hosted products but it is definitely a consideration when making a choice. It's not that I don't like Americans, but your government and government agencies have verifiably proven that they don't care about the things I care about.

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#147

Post by quietbritishjim »

sudhirj wrote: post #111
est31 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe so yes. An inertia system or overlapping system are two ways to describe the same thing :).

Huh? Not the way I understood it. Inertia implies the world is divided into cells numbered 1 to N, and people don’t move from X to X + 1 unless they report, say 5, consecutive times from X + 1. Overlapping systems remap the cells 1,2,3 to 1; 2,3,4 to 2 and so on. So if someone oscillated between new no. 1 and new no. 2, you’d still have no of knowing whether they were in old style cells no 2 or 3.

Inertia could well be understood to mean what you described as "overlapping". That's how I understood their comment and it appears that's how they intended it. It makes sense given the literal meaning of interia, relating to resistence to physically move an object. I don't get why you think it necessarily implies the frequency thing.

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#148

Post by riedel »

SergeAx wrote: post #141
gruez wrote: post #6

>[Line] fixed it by adding a random number to the user's destination This is a imperfect solution. There's two possibilities: the offset (aka "random number") is dynamic, or it's fixed. If it's the former all you have to do is sample enough times to get through the noise. If it's the latter, it's not vulnerable to the previous attack, but if you have a known point of reference (so you can deduce what the offset is),…

Adding a fixed error based on user's hashed data (so it is constant but different for every user) seems like a good enough solution, no?

If people are moving in roads and there is a reasonable time resolution or enough data sampled it is likely that you can correct it.

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#149

Post by fsflover »

chipsa wrote: post #122
solarkraft wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except it's not. Telegram has clients for every imaginable platform while AFAIK Signal only works on phones (and that's just one issue).

https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-29-signal-ipad.html Works on tablets and desktops too. Just set it up as a linked device.

So you must have a spyPhone tracking you. Perfect security...

Re: Telegram publishes users' locations online

#150

Post by sofixa »

kelnos wrote: post #119
jjcon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal has a terrible terrible ux - most people don’t care as much as the HN-er when it comes to security - they want a chat app that just works and is feature rich

I really don't get what people mean when they say this. To me, Signal is pretty indistinguishable from WhatsApp, FB Messenger, even the default SMS app. What about the UX specifically bothers you?

> Signal is pretty indistinguishable from WhatsApp, FB Messenger, even the default SMS app. What about the UX specifically bothers you?

That's part of the problem, all those you listed have poor to terrible UX and are just not great chat clients, Telegram is just better - in terms of speed ( compared to FB Messenger), features such as location sharing("where are you?", "Next to Restaurant XX " or "On the corner of A and B street" sucks, you can just share precise location via Telegram - a friend even sent me the location of a beautiful lake while on vacation because i was going in the area soon after), polls ( great for groups), message editing, search, stickers, gif integration, bots. I've used FB Messenger and Whatsapp extensively and Telegram is absolutely much better than both of them.

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