The new warrant: how US police mine Google for your location and search history

Post by chrononaut » Thu, Sep 16, 2021, 8:54 PM UTC

Syonyk wrote: post #103

chrononaut wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I use a trained neural network I keep between my ears... Recall is sometimes fuzzy with age, but it works well enough, and I don't have to worry about external queries violating my various rights nearly as much as with tech companies. I don't understand the point you're making (unless you're being snarky.) You recognize that most other users of Google Location History can do the same? > My first question, though, w…

> I don't understand the point you're making (unless you're being snarky.) I am. I'm referring to my brain in a "tech industry buzzword" way. It is, technically speaking, a trained neural network. Just a biological one, not a silicon/code based one. I happen to like it, and it can also do things like tell the difference between a low moon in the sky through a smoke haze and a traffic light. > Another way of framing i…

Post by StanislavPetrov » Thu, Sep 16, 2021, 8:57 PM UTC

izacus wrote: post #13

dartharva wrote: post #3

I've always had the habit of keeping Location services turned off while not in use, to conserve my phone's battery. Guess it's a privacy requisite now. I also remember having a habit of keeping mobile data off during the 3G days. Guess it's not feasible anymore.

That does practically nothing for your privacy, because you're still connected to the base station tower which keeps logs of your phone roaming between base stations. And in more populated areas, the base stations are dense enough to be pretty accurate about where you were. Requests for cell tower log dumps are very common these days. The solution here is for governments to ban this kind of bulk data requests without…

Post by ianmiers » Thu, Sep 16, 2021, 9:03 PM UTC

twofornone wrote: post #23

Its only a matter of time before the wrong people get their hands on all the data that big tech has been unscrupulously mining for years now. An authoritarian's wet dream. Im typically a minimal regulation kind of guy but these orgs have consistently demonstrated that without some sort of effective privacy regulation, modern tech companies simply do not have enough incentive to self-regulate with respect to data coll…

Post by barbazoo » Thu, Sep 16, 2021, 9:06 PM UTC

noptd wrote: post #150

barbazoo wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Google location sharing with my partner so we know where the other person is. Is owntracks a replacement for that by any chance?

I'd hope not. We should normalize less surveillance, not more.

Post by MrOwen » Thu, Sep 16, 2021, 9:11 PM UTC

barbazoo wrote: post #167

noptd wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd hope not. We should normalize less surveillance, not more.

How is it surveillance when two consenting adults share their location with each other using a self hosted service?