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iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

appleinsider.com

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Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#101

Post by dpkonofa »

misiti3780 wrote: post #51
dpkonofa wrote: post #6

My favorite thing about these features is the number of apps that it’s reminded me to uninstall completely from my devices. The number of apps that I initially installed months ago that didn’t have any of this that suddenly developed tracking notifications is staggering. I never would have known either since the updates happen silently in the background. Great features.

where are you seeing the notifications ? I installed the update and just clicked "use location only while using app" for everything

They'll usually pop up unexpectedly and say something like "Data Leaking App has used your location while running in the background 3 times in the last 24 hours. Do you want to continue allowing this?" and it'll give me a prompt to disable location services for that app completely, allow while the app is in the background, while it's in focus, or allow always. Depending on what permissions the app actually needs, the prompt is slightly different each time.

It's a new feature due to the more fine-grained permissions that are allowed now on iOS. It prevents apps that you may have previously allowed location access to (when it was just binary) from adding all these new "features" to use your location in ways that weren't disclosed that way initially.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#102

Post by thombles »

freehunter wrote: post #24

On the other hand Apple has forced apps to use location data for purposes it should not be used for. Termius, for example, is my favorite iOS SSH app. But according to them, they can’t keep an SSH session running in the background unless they’re constantly tracking your location data. And somehow Apple approved this usage of location data. I don’t want to give Termius my location. I don’t want them tracking me everyw…

Apple's effective policy is that any long-running service should be mediated via a remote server. This affects not just SSH but every other protocol that relies on long-lived TCP connections such as IRC and XMPP. Not only can you no longer maintain the connection - you also need an out-of-band way to provide notifications via APNS. Together these requirements have hugely damaged traditional or federated protocols. Nowadays XMPP has extensions to handle this situation but the damage is done.

Meanwhile Matrix gets by because they have a company with actual money subsidising the client app (Riot) and providing notifications for every user, no matter which homeserver they happen to be using. Without that benevolence provided for iOS, Matrix could well be another non-starter outside FOSS circles.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#103

Post by anarchodev »

KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #91
Waterluvian wrote: post #77

I'm probably saying the complete obvious, but Apple can completely crush Google if they execute this angle properly. Google has no choice but to support ads. They're an ad company. Apple has to keep hammering how bad the ad and privacy experiences are with Android. Make iOS an absolute delight to use in contrast. I'd pay a premium for that. Android has done a great job making me want an iOS device again, these last t…

I don't get it, where do you see ads in android? If anything I use android for the ad-less experience, youtube vanced etc.

This article is about a notification that appears on iOS devices letting you know when an app has been using your location information in the background. I haven't used Android in a while but I assume it doesn't have this. These data are often sold to advertisers, data aggregation companies, shared with police, etc.

So that's the issue, more than ads being directly embedded in the apps of the phone.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#104

Post by Polylactic_acid »

jzvxkxbxjx wrote: post #95
Polylactic_acid wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never owned an ios device in my life and strongly avoid them but this makes drift slightly over considering one. If apple allowed easily sideloading apps I would consider moving over.

“ If apple allowed easily sideloading apps I would consider moving over.” This was the reason I was an android guy until my wife told me to just get a phone that works. And you know what? Not letting you side load is a feature. When you see it like that, you care a lot less about your phone, and just appreciate that it works and that you can trust it as your more intimate possessions .

Without sideloading I can't use a 3rd party youtube app that has no ads, no tracking and allows downloads. I also can't use my pebble watch because the official app is unsupported and only community supported software exists. I also am restricted from some content that android users of the same app can view because apple prohibits adult content inside of apps.

I see a phone as a tool to do what the user needs. Not the user doing what the phone will allow.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#106

Post by w-ll »

saagarjha wrote: post #94
w-ll wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a Thinkpad :(

Apparently it's E2E encrypted: https://docs.termius.com/termius-handbook/synchronization ?

Yea, it's just one of those things that I rather inspect, I didn't need syncing, I just needed a decent terminal app on iOS.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#107

Post by okr »

anarchodev wrote: post #103
KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it, where do you see ads in android? If anything I use android for the ad-less experience, youtube vanced etc.

This article is about a notification that appears on iOS devices letting you know when an app has been using your location information in the background. I haven't used Android in a while but I assume it doesn't have this. These data are often sold to advertisers, data aggregation companies, shared with police, etc. So that's the issue, more than ads being directly embedded in the apps of the phone.

Since upgrade to Android 10 i get for each app, that asks for location in the background the option to disable it and allow location access only, when i use the app.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#108

Post by surround »

mikeryan wrote: post #21

Over the years I've considered switching to Android a few times but Apple's really locking in as my preferred device from their privacy work. Not sure this moves the needle with consumers but it does for me.

Apple’s restrictive iOS is what’s pushed me to use Android. Sure, out-of-the-box, iOS is better for privacy. But with the right adjustments, power users can make Android much better for privacy than iOS.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#109

Post by ncallaway »

anarchodev wrote: post #103
KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it, where do you see ads in android? If anything I use android for the ad-less experience, youtube vanced etc.

This article is about a notification that appears on iOS devices letting you know when an app has been using your location information in the background. I haven't used Android in a while but I assume it doesn't have this. These data are often sold to advertisers, data aggregation companies, shared with police, etc. So that's the issue, more than ads being directly embedded in the apps of the phone.

> I haven't used Android in a while but I assume it doesn't have this.

I've started getting these notifications on my Android device.

Each app that makes a location request in the background causes a notification that allows me to take away location access from the app, only allow location access when the app is in the foreground, or always allow location access.

Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry

#110

Post by echelon »

jzvxkxbxjx wrote: post #95
Polylactic_acid wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never owned an ios device in my life and strongly avoid them but this makes drift slightly over considering one. If apple allowed easily sideloading apps I would consider moving over.

“ If apple allowed easily sideloading apps I would consider moving over.” This was the reason I was an android guy until my wife told me to just get a phone that works. And you know what? Not letting you side load is a feature. When you see it like that, you care a lot less about your phone, and just appreciate that it works and that you can trust it as your more intimate possessions .

> Not letting you side load is a feature.

No. It's not. Stop, seriously.

"Not letting you vote is a feature."

"Not letting you complain is a feature."

"Not letting you speak is a feature."

"Not letting you have free will is a feature."

"Not letting you use your body as you wish is a feature."

This is how we lose our digital rights. Stop buying into this utter horse shit.

We have the right to repair our devices, run whatever code we want on them, the right to sell them, and not be spied upon by them.

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