This is a layered problem; Apple and Google (for better and worse) are best positioned to deal with the app ecosystem. But there's the mobile provider piece of this -- the tower knows where you are because currently it has to, and the network providers are part of this location data market, selling location data for everyone, whether they use leaky apps or not. This is worse with 5G due to smaller cells and thus fine…
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#42This is a layered problem; Apple and Google (for better and worse) are best positioned to deal with the app ecosystem. But there's the mobile provider piece of this -- the tower knows where you are because currently it has to, and the network providers are part of this location data market, selling location data for everyone, whether they use leaky apps or not. This is worse with 5G due to smaller cells and thus fine…
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#44> How can I stop companies from getting my location data? The steps they list only cover gps data. In my final year at uni, during the capstone fair, I recall one group built a tracking system that relied on Bluetooth or wifi or something (maybe cellular signals?) to identify and track people indoors. I think they pitched it to be used in malls or airports, but really could work anywhere. It was surprisingly robust.…
WiFi on phone sends periodic pings to discover new access points. MAC is unique...
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#45This is a layered problem; Apple and Google (for better and worse) are best positioned to deal with the app ecosystem. But there's the mobile provider piece of this -- the tower knows where you are because currently it has to, and the network providers are part of this location data market, selling location data for everyone, whether they use leaky apps or not. This is worse with 5G due to smaller cells and thus fine…
Link to research paper: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/sec21-schmitt.pdf
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#46It's more like a trillion dollar market. The actual players are Google, Facebook, and Apple... these startups are just location data gnats. Location data is probably the single best demographic info to have to make money, and at least 3 companies in the world have basically everyone's phone bugged. Ads, maps, social... all totally dependent on location data from users.
When I lived in my car in SF a waymo would pass me right when I left and at many key intersections and at my destinations. I know it was not random but I don’t go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out how they did it. If I get proof then I’d be vindicated. I tweeted about it as a human rights violation often, having no way to retreat. I long ago took it as a given that we have no privacy. I can only imagine wh…
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#48This is a layered problem; Apple and Google (for better and worse) are best positioned to deal with the app ecosystem. But there's the mobile provider piece of this -- the tower knows where you are because currently it has to, and the network providers are part of this location data market, selling location data for everyone, whether they use leaky apps or not. This is worse with 5G due to smaller cells and thus fine…
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#49It's more like a trillion dollar market. The actual players are Google, Facebook, and Apple... these startups are just location data gnats. Location data is probably the single best demographic info to have to make money, and at least 3 companies in the world have basically everyone's phone bugged. Ads, maps, social... all totally dependent on location data from users.
When I lived in my car in SF a waymo would pass me right when I left and at many key intersections and at my destinations. I know it was not random but I don’t go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out how they did it. If I get proof then I’d be vindicated. I tweeted about it as a human rights violation often, having no way to retreat. I long ago took it as a given that we have no privacy. I can only imagine wh…
I’ve been in a survival frame of mind before and it can feel like the whole world is against you. It’s hard to trust anyone. Living in a car in SF (or any city) would give me massive anxiety, there’s no “safe place” where you can fully let your guard down.
I know you don’t want to hear this, and have probably heard it before, but your paranoia may be a sign of untreated mental illness. Stress can trigger mental health issues, and treatment may help. I also understand that the medications have some pretty bad side effect profiles, and being labeled mentally ill means you get treated completely different than everyone else (in healthcare in particular) I also understand that your experience of feeling surveilled felt very real to you, the hard part of treating the disorders is that it’s hard to accept what you experience isn’t real, since it’s very real to you.
I encourage you to consider seeking help, but understand why you’d be hesitant. Take care.
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#50This is a layered problem; Apple and Google (for better and worse) are best positioned to deal with the app ecosystem. But there's the mobile provider piece of this -- the tower knows where you are because currently it has to, and the network providers are part of this location data market, selling location data for everyone, whether they use leaky apps or not. This is worse with 5G due to smaller cells and thus fine…
Open source radios are the first step to privacy. We need to be able to choose the towers we connect to.
How does that help? If you do that the best you can do is obfuscate your location by a mile.