Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't think location is useful for a map ... ?
It wants precise location — which I take to mean war-driving WiFi. GPS I am okay with for a map app.
Precise location _is_ GPS, not the other way around.
Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
181–190 of 327 posts
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#182My iPhone asks if I want to allow an app to access the Local Network. I assume that this 1) means that Apple does cover this situation and 2) my opinion that the phrasing "Apple allows applications to track user locations without authorization" is contemptible are both true.
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Could you please not post unsubstantive comments and/or flamebait? It's not what this site is for, and you can make your substantive points without it.
If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Get a list of visible SSIDs" is exactly how phones derive your location. There's little distinction between seeing SSIDs and seeing GPS coordinates for 99.9% of the population.
Back in the real world SSIDs are a very coarse and not very reliable way of locating devices. You are exaggerating.
Can you please make your substantive points without swipes? (like "Back in the real world", "you are exaggerating", "no you're fantasizing" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38710396, and so on). This kind of thing is against HN's rules and also spoils the substantive points you're trying to make. If you'd make your substantive points thoughtfully instead, we'd appreciate it.
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#184Whenever location data collection comes up, I always think about that Seinfeld episode where Kramer is receiving misdialed MovieFone calls -- at first he just talks to the person and reads the movie times out of the newspaper. Very helpful. Eventually, he starts emulating the phone menus, asking the caller "Using your touch-tone keypad, please enter the first three letters of the movie title, now." When this doesn't…
You want to change your location in every app manually, even when your device has a GPS receiver installed?
A happy medium would be if as part of the location-granting prompt, you could tell the OS "just give a city-level fix— this app doesn't need to know exactly where I am".
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#185Apple sometimes provides a prompt for letting photos be shown. Seems like sometimes they expose all your photos to application without asking.
Seems worse to give your users a false sense of security.
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#186Whenever location data collection comes up, I always think about that Seinfeld episode where Kramer is receiving misdialed MovieFone calls -- at first he just talks to the person and reads the movie times out of the newspaper. Very helpful. Eventually, he starts emulating the phone menus, asking the caller "Using your touch-tone keypad, please enter the first three letters of the movie title, now." When this doesn't…
You want to change your location in every app manually, even when your device has a GPS receiver installed?
As someone who keeps GPS off, absolutely.
Not that I think I can trust the phone actually disabled the GPS, but there is no reason my movements need to be tracked and recorded in detail. Make them go through the effort and pull up all the cellphone towers I ping.
Day to day, there is a very good chance I am still in my home city as first configured.
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#187Which popular apps use that? Is it possible to check this? Like most here, I don’t have Wechat or Alipay installed. But I’m interested in e.g. Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Tiktok, Snapchat, Chrome, Firefox, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.
I know I sound like a broken record but I really do think app stores owe us the ability to see, in advance, what permissions an app will request. I shouldn’t have to download and install the app just to see what kind of behaviors it is going to attempt. The app stores know this information and it would be trivially easy to present it in the details of the app prior to down loading.
In the Play store it is possible to see what permissions are required and data is collected.
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#188Whenever location data collection comes up, I always think about that Seinfeld episode where Kramer is receiving misdialed MovieFone calls -- at first he just talks to the person and reads the movie times out of the newspaper. Very helpful. Eventually, he starts emulating the phone menus, asking the caller "Using your touch-tone keypad, please enter the first three letters of the movie title, now." When this doesn't…
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Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s not really any consolation, since (according to the article) Apple has granted that entitlement to WeChat and Alipay. Yes, these are “super-apps” and Wi-Fi hotspot services are probably part of their offerings, but that’s just more reason this should be a user-grantable permission like “local network access”. If I don’t care for the hotspot feature, I don’t want the app to have that capability.
Certain apps have always gotten special treatment. If it’s big enough to mess with phone sales they’re allowed nonsense a normal dev would be permanently banned for. Ex: all the stuff FB has been caught doing over the years My understanding (no first hand experience) is that WeChat and Alipay are basically required in China. If a phone doesn’t have them, it’s worthless and won’t sell. So naturally they too can do non…
See also McDonald’s being allowed to gate app functionality behind background location access
Re: Apple allows some iOS apps to track user locations via lists of nearby SSIDs
#190We've heard complaints that this title is overstated, and I'd be happy to replace it with a better (i.e. more accurate and neutral) one, if anyone has a suggestion?