One of these days, most of you will finally understand just how right RMS was and is... It's just a shame so many can't see it, and worse, give those of us who do shit.
Stallman is not a prophet and there are many valid arguments against his views.
US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
391–400 of 648 posts
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#392The most obvious use of the data appears to be by credit card companies to detect fraudulent use of a card and decline those transactions. This is something I'm relatively comfortable with, though it's plainly in the interests of the bank and I only indirectly benefit from the tracking.
Does it bother you that you're being tracked?
I'm not the person you're asking this question to, but I thought I'd reply anyways.
No, it doesn't really bother me. Why would anyone care that I get up around 7AM on weekdays, drive to work around 9, stay there until 5, and then drive home?
On weekends they will see me going to Target and the grocery store. Sometimes another store. Sometimes I go to visit my family in another city.
I really don't care if people have that information. Many people (not me) post that information freely on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
There are some future situations in which I might care that I am being tracked. If that were the case, it's highly unlikely I would bring a phone with me.
Would I prefer not to be tracked? Probably. Does it bother me that I am being tracked? Nope.
I suspect these views line up with the majority of people in the US.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#393Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tested and same result. I have a strong suspicion that it intentionally places you some distance from where it knows you actually are. Unless there is some underlying reason why it would never be 100% accurate -- I've seen dozens of people post their results and every time it's 1-300 meters off. And it's not just "no one tests while under the cell tower" because the location it gave me was 150 meters in the opposite…
I just used the internet site it said up to 14 miles off in accuracy on the results page. It was actually 4 miles off with my wifi off and GPS off and ZLAT off. I'm also pretty sure the location it picked is very close to an existing cell tower.
What is ZLAT?
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#394Earlier quoted context omitted.
Airplane mode would work, yes. But it only works against the cell provider. The on-phone GPS can still work and sync the data later.
I would imagine the airplane mode deactivates GPS signal recipience?
GPS is passive, so there's no need to disable it in airplane mode.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#395Throwaway 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…
I'm in the space as well. I've tried telling my congressmen but they ignore me. I'm waiting for the backlash, especially will all the recent privacy issues. It hasn't happened yet and the problem is so large that I honestly doubt whether the public will ever truly grasp what the scope. The advice I always give when this topic comes up us to be very careful with what you install on your phone. The least expensive mobi…
Talk to a congressperson who knows about cyber like Ron Wyden.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#396Earlier quoted context omitted.
Should they? The vast quantity of users find it incredibly useful and have no reason to be concerned about governments or third parties being able to determine their geographic location, because governments or third parties don't generally care.
If they "don't generally care", they wouldn't be collecting that data to begin with.
It's possible that they care about the aggregated data and not about the individual data.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#397Throwaway 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…
Likewise ISPs are selling sensitive DNS data like crazy and most users probably think the green lock keeps them safe from that.
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#398Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
A dumb phone can be localized by cell triangulation. The US military disclosed that it was using such a technique in Afghanistan to locate Al-Qaeda targets (they disclosed this because Al-Qaeda had gotten so paranoid about he accuracy of US military operations that they had assumed they had human spies on the ground feeding the US information and began killing civilians on suspicion of spying).
> A dumb phone can be localized by cell triangulation. The US military disclosed ...
In the U.S., aren't dumb phones (or 'feature phones') locatable for E911 service?
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#399Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most wifi hotspots have location information anyway, so your phone will know where it is, and then one of the many apps on your phone can report back with that information. And isn't a pager just a really simple cell phone? I'm not sure how that's a solution if cell towers can triangulate your position.
I should have been clearer: One way pagers seem to still exist. They do not transmit.
Dan Geer (CISO at In-Q-Tel, has been warning about the dangers of surveillance for years) has spoken about how he uses a pager instead of a cell phone.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/08/11...
Re: US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data
#400Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if they use this data to price insurance -- they would easily know when their drivers are going over the speed limit (or, if such data is not so precise, if their average speed over 10 minutes exceeded the speed limit).
More likely is approximating number of miles driven and price discriminating based off that. More miles driven = more risk of an auto accident. Basically pay-per-mile car insurance, but hidden.
How do they know you are driving? Seems too error-prone to be useful.