Anyone have a link to jeans with faraday pockets?
Problem is now you can't receive calls.
US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
211–220 of 648 posts
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#212Throwaway account. I work in location / mapping / geo. Some of us have been waiting for this to blow (which it hasn't yet). The public has zero idea how much personal location data is available. It's not just your cell carrier. Your cell phone chip manufacturer, GPS chip manufacturer, phone manufacturer and then pretty much anyone on the installed OS (android crapware) is getting a copy of your location data. Usually…
if you want to get it to blow up then (based on past experience of what seems to catch regulator/legislator interest) I'd say that someone tracking the locations of a load of politicians for a while, finding things of interest about places they've visited and then publishing on a news outlet would do the job.
Good way to loose your job very quickly. I don't think we should have to rely on somebody sacrificing themselves to make a difference.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
You leave out another option: Americans distrust government because we see it fail us every day. Corruption, police brutality, inefficiency, politician sleaze baggery... In general corporations provide a much higher quality service than the government in the US.
It always boggles my mind how 1/2 the people that realize and complain about those things go on to recommend more government and that only they should have effective guns.
It’s not half, it’s a tiny percent who recommend those things.
Saying half the country wants those things because they vote D is the same as saying half the country wants to ban Muslims because they vote R.
You can’t treat populations as individuals. You can’t take the many desires of a group of people and expect them to make sense as if they were one mind.
This mindset is the reason political discussion has broken down in this country. Rather than treat each other as individuals with diverse opinions, we treat each other as mini clones of the nonsensical amalgam of the worst aspects of half the country.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#214Anyone have a link to jeans with faraday pockets?
Hope you like short battery life and warm pockets.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
And somehow people trust those bribing companies more than the politicians?
They do, some folks. The idea is companies, caring only about their own revenue, are purer of heart than politicians who are interested primarily in their own social status. ... that a kind of bulk morality emerges from many individuals all working to maximize a single product’s sales.
Some say "bulk morality", I say "immoral, unrelenting, greed". Not exactly a benevolent goal.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this happening with iPhone as well, or primarily android due to the third party nature of the hardware?
The problem is once it's at the cell carrier level it doesn't even matter if you use a dumb phone. They know roughly where you are based on tower triangulation.
That's always been common knowledge, the shocker is that it's being transmitted to "everyone and their dog" or even being sold. Afaik that was never the case with dumb phones.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
As blocking fraudulent claims could remove a reason for my premiums to he higher, I can't say I'm against that. With the caveat, for course, that people are not always where their phone is so this taken on its own would be circumstantial evidence: one would hope decisions are not made directly based on this information.
It’s not in the interest of insurance companies to lower premiums. They only do it if competition is eating them alive. Geico has been raising their margins ever so slightly. I bet they are also the purchasers of ungodly amounts of data for targeting marketing. Insurance companies #1 goal is to make maximum profits for their shareholders without getting caught with their pants down.
Mine go down fairly regularly. I have even been cut a check for adding cars to my insurance.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#218Throwaway account. I work in location / mapping / geo. Some of us have been waiting for this to blow (which it hasn't yet). The public has zero idea how much personal location data is available. It's not just your cell carrier. Your cell phone chip manufacturer, GPS chip manufacturer, phone manufacturer and then pretty much anyone on the installed OS (android crapware) is getting a copy of your location data. Usually…
How much of this data is archived and searchable?
Most of the descriptions of the service so far indicate a real time or near real time feed. I'm curious if it's possible to go take a phone number and ask "give me location data for this person around xx:xx at yyyy-mm-dd."
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
As an amateur radio operator, I would expect nothing less for carrying a highly networked radio transceiver with loads of sensors including geopositioning. Simply put: don't want to be tracked? Put your phone in a lead sealed box or leave it at home. Tracking only tracks the phone , not your person.
So basically either give up your right for privacy or don't use any new technology? That doesn't look practical. A better idea would be to ban cell carriers (and anyone else) from using location data for anything except explicitly permitted by law, like help in emergencies or conducting investigations.
So basically either give up your right for privacy or don't use any new technology?
I think this is probably correct.
The problem with the ban you suggest is that it will degrade service in many instances. Some level of location tracking is necessary for all cellular phones to make a smooth handoff between towers or for example to load balance connectivity between different towers.
In the end the more personalized the service you want to have, the more "invasive." Opt in is probably the best total solution, however it quickly becomes an education game if you want it to be effective, and most people don't have the time or technical understanding to put up with a dozen different opt ins.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#220The article mentions banks tracking your credit card usage to detect fraud. Are there known instances of banks reselling this location data?