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Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

gizmodo.com

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Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#41

Post by [deleted] »

superkuh wrote: post #21
toufiqbarhamov wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. Just chose to not use services that suck yourself. It's easy. Ok let’s test your hypothesis. Camera noise Right, I’m tagging you in this group photo and uploading it. Where’s your choice now?

I don't see the problem. It sounds like I'm in a public setting. If not and this is some friend group gathering I could just ask you not to since we're friends. My friends and family that use facebook know not to include me. But even if they do, so what? It's not like a single photo of me uploaded by a friend impacts my privacy.

[deleted]

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#42

Post by baddox »

rhizome wrote: post #16
a-dub wrote: post #9

I'm not really sure if that's a scary facebook thing or merely just an inconvenient reality of the world we live in now. There's quite a few papers out on fingerprinting/identifying cameras from images taken with them using intrinsics (dust, scratches, slight offset of image sensor with respect to lens).

I'm not really sure if that's a scary facebook thing or merely just an inconvenient reality of the world we live in now. These aren't mutually exclusive. The reality of the world may just be acquiring more scary things, and ones that are created for profit.

I don’t think profit motive is the scary second ingredient, but rather the massive centralization of data that Facebook (and a few other tech giants) have.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#43

Post by vertexFarm »

vlovich123 wrote: post #3

What's the news story here? Tech companies file innumerable number of patents without implementing them to cover the space in case they get sued so they can retaliate. Realistically this patent wouldn't actually be useful in practice for the proposed application but would be useful if written carefully enough to countersue for unrelated applications of the tech.

What? You're saying companies file patents on tech they don't intend on using so they don't get sued by patent trolls for their non-use of some other preexisting patent? That doesn't make sense on any level.

And if you don't think such a thing would be useful to a company like this (if it could really be made to work) you aren't using your imagination properly.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#44

Post by walterbell »

nixpulvis wrote: post #30
paulryanrogers wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is rather amazing that smartphone cameras are so feature packed, yet still lack a lens cover. Something as old as cameras themselves.

Old cameras didn't exactly fit in your pocket, and didn't have sapphire glass... Though I do think it would be nice to have a hardware (iris?) way to close off the camera. Some laptops have this, though I'm sad mine doesn't.

They are available for phones and laptops, e.g. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B66VZ97/

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#45

Post by baddox »

bitL wrote: post #32
anonytrary wrote: post #18

Jokes on them, I have electrical tape on my camera lens. Something I learned from Facebook's CEO, ironically.

That can be potentially even easier; if you have a few specks of dust on the camera and your tape leaks a bit of light, they would have a perfect pattern to detect your lens - the specks aren't moving and there will be only speck effects recognizable on any video frame they capture when they max out contrast.

Facebook is using images that people uploaded, and I doubt parent commenter is taking and uploading many pictures with tape over the lens.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#46

Post by baddox »

nixpulvis wrote: post #20
anonytrary wrote: post #18

Jokes on them, I have electrical tape on my camera lens. Something I learned from Facebook's CEO, ironically.

I'd love to see people spending >$1,000 on a new iPhone "for the camera", only to cover it with electrical tape. This sounds like something out of Silicon Valley.

Yes, it would be absurd for any one person to do both of those things, but I highly doubt that has occurred.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#47

Post by gdulli »

pxeboot wrote: post #6

by comparing the accelerometer and gyroscope readings of each phone, the data could identify when people were facing each other or walking together. More evidence we need far more privacy controls in mobile operating systems.

I've always been floored that people leave their location services turned on by default. I have mine on for no more than a few minutes a month. I only turn it on when I'm in an unfamiliar location, don't have my bearings, and looking at the map alone isn't enough to help without GPS.

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#48

Post by gruez »

paulcole wrote: post #31
anonytrary wrote: post #18

Jokes on them, I have electrical tape on my camera lens. Something I learned from Facebook's CEO, ironically.

But then can’t they just tell it’s you by the tape on the lens?

Because nobody else tapes up their lens?

Re: Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

#50

Post by sky_rw »

walterbell wrote: post #44
nixpulvis wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Old cameras didn't exactly fit in your pocket, and didn't have sapphire glass... Though I do think it would be nice to have a hardware (iris?) way to close off the camera. Some laptops have this, though I'm sad mine doesn't.

They are available for phones and laptops, e.g. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B66VZ97/

+1 these are awesome. I have them on all my devices.
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