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Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

an.dywa.ng

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Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#201

Post by apparent »

crazygringo wrote: post #170
apparent wrote: post #162

I've noticed that when I travel, I get spam calls from the area code I am visiting. I have asked my cell provider if they monetize my location data, and they swear they aren't. But I don't trust them, given that no one else (other than Apple) would know where I am in real time. Recently switched providers and haven't experienced it since then. Wouldn't be surprised if there was a class action lawsuit someday. Of cour…

> But I don't trust them, given that no one else (other than Apple) would know where I am in real time. Literally every website and app you use with any kind of shared analytics/ads gets your general location just from your IP address alone, and can update your profile on that analytics/ads provider. It is far more likely this, than your cell phone provider.

Those websites don't have my phone number.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#203

Post by Gobd »

Nothing can stop the tower equipment manufacturer like Ericsson from knowing the location of your phone and cooperating with advertising or mobile tracking compainies to aggregate that data in useful ways. If you have a phone, people that want your location have it and there is nothing you can do.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#204

Post by lgats »

spwa4 wrote: post #117
nichos wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would ask for your source

How that works is simple: there are regulations that force that the microphone used for calling is directly connected to the "baseband", which is under control of the carrier. It has to be, because of AT&T's argument: ONE misbehaving baseband can make cell phones inoperable in an area that's up to a kilometer in diameter. So AT&T's cell towers "need" to be able to send out a signal that permanently disables a phone's…

GPS isn't a wireless signal sent by the phone, it is RX only.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#205

Post by apparent »

xingped wrote: post #169
apparent wrote: post #162

I've noticed that when I travel, I get spam calls from the area code I am visiting. I have asked my cell provider if they monetize my location data, and they swear they aren't. But I don't trust them, given that no one else (other than Apple) would know where I am in real time. Recently switched providers and haven't experienced it since then. Wouldn't be surprised if there was a class action lawsuit someday. Of cour…

Name and shame. Which provider were you having this experience on? (If you don't mind sharing since you're no longer with them.)

Pure Talk. Much cheaper than AT&T, and good customer service. But I found something that was cheaper on an unlimited basis. Between that and the sketchy calls I was getting, I decided to move.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#206

Post by iamnothere »

strcat wrote: post #181
iamnothere wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Regulations say the baseband MUST control: all wireless signals (including wifi and GPS), all microphones and speakers, and it must be able to disable the camera electrically. It must have a tamper-resistant identifier (IMEI number ... kind of). This is simply not true. Source: I own a phone where this is not the case. Many Linux phones internally attach their wireless devices via USB, so there is good separation.…

Connecting a cellular radio via USB provides far less isolation than the approach of a tiny kernel driver connected to an IOMMU isolated cellular radio on mainstream devices. USB has immense complexity and attack surface, especially with a standard Linux kernel configuration. Forensic data extraction companies mostly haven't bothered using attack vectors other than USB due to it being such a weak point. Many of the t…

The Linux USB stack improves over time, and besides, implementing it with USB makes it easier to implement hardware toggle switches. (Cutting power pins to the USB modem is like unplugging it.)

Edit: I’ll add that I think smartphone “security” is almost impossible to achieve, given the complexity of everything and the opacity of modem vendor stacks, which is why I just assume endpoint compromise. I use my phone rarely and with toggle switches normally “off”, and I don’t consider it a secure device or use it very often. If you believe that a secure phone is possible, however, then Graphene is definitely a better fit than a Linux phone.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#207

Post by crazygringo »

apparent wrote: post #201
crazygringo wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I don't trust them, given that no one else (other than Apple) would know where I am in real time. Literally every website and app you use with any kind of shared analytics/ads gets your general location just from your IP address alone, and can update your profile on that analytics/ads provider. It is far more likely this, than your cell phone provider.

Those websites don't have my phone number.

The ads/analytics providers very well might. They gather data and cross-reference from tons of different sources.

And I don't know about you, but I've put my phone number into a lot of apps and sites. Sometimes it's required, sometimes it's for 2FA, etc.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#208

Post by Havoc »

gruez wrote: post #185
jeroenhd wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American carriers have a different protocol than the EU. The EU (and probably EU derived networks) uses a """secret""" SMS format that's opt-in, but the 911 system works differently. The 911 feature can be activated fully remotely, the 112 feature is supposed to only activate when dialing an emergency number.

>The 911 feature can be activated fully remotely Source? Even if the phone isn't actively doing a 911 call?

GP likely means any 911 call automatically has geo tracing.

>The dispatcher's computer receives information from the telephone company about the physical address (for landlines) or geographic coordinates (for wireless) of the caller.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#209

Post by iamnothere »

jolmg wrote: post #197
iamnothere wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s “open” but not libre or patent unencumbered.

That's interesting. That's the first time I've seen a "[deleted]" comment. IIRC, HN would just disallow deleting if somebody replied. Maybe this is from replying on an already deleted comment.

I think it still does, but maybe we found a bug. I might have commented at the same time they deleted?

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#210

Post by apparent »

spzb wrote: post #171
apparent wrote: post #162

I've noticed that when I travel, I get spam calls from the area code I am visiting. I have asked my cell provider if they monetize my location data, and they swear they aren't. But I don't trust them, given that no one else (other than Apple) would know where I am in real time. Recently switched providers and haven't experienced it since then. Wouldn't be surprised if there was a class action lawsuit someday. Of cour…

I'd be looking at ad networks rather than telcos in this case. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/google-settlement-may-...

Yeah it's a possibility if they matched up ad stuff with my home location and guessed at my phone number based on that.

But if they're trying to get me to answer the phone, calling from a local number actually makes me less likely to answer. Nobody would be calling my cell phone from the city I'm visiting. I'm more likely to pick up a call if the area code is from back home.

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