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Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

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Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#401

Post by codedokode »

rightos wrote: post #246
username223 wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently got a free Android phone, and would also never let it near anything that could extract money from me, and am conscious of the information it can disclose. Sorry, legitimate Android app developers! I would like to pay you for the things you create, but your neighborhood is too sketchy for me to visit.

That's pretty ridiculous, we're talking about credit card purchases here, which can be trivially charged back, not bitcoin private keys... if you've worked with sensitive info on a Windows box though, that's probably a much worse off environment.

The comment above didn't mention what type of card they are using nor in what country they live. Regarding Windows, in the times of Windows XP there were no "telemetry".

Using a smartphone for banking is really dangerous because banks often use a phone as a second factor and compromising the phone gives full access to your bank account. And many phones do not get security updates.

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#402

Post by codedokode »

eh78ssxv2f wrote: post #319
ams6110 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an Android phone, but I would never use it (or an iPhone for that matter) to log into my bank account.

Is there a reason to believe that mobile ecosystem is more unsafe than the desktop ecosystem? I would argue it the other way round. On mobile (Android or iOS), apps have much fewer permissions compared to on desktop. e.g., one app can't look into the data of the other app. On desktop, it is possible to write a binary which steals user cookies (e.g., https://github.com/rash2kool/cookie_stealer ). For all purposes, the…

I think using a smartphone for banking is very dangerous:

- banks often use phone (for example, SMS) as a second factor for authentication, for example to confirm transactions. Compromising a phone thereforer provides full access to your account. Some banks even allow to perform payments by sending SMS without logging in.

- many phones do not receive security updates in time. And those updates close only public vulnerabilities.

- while Android has good permission system, many apps have a very wide set of permissions, including permission to read or send SMS messages, or permission to use accessibility functions, so compromising such an app can also be enough.

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#403

Post by codedokode »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #117
eknkc wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tell all my friends / family to get an iPhone if they are upgrading. I used iOS and Android phones and I like both. However it makes even me nerveous to use a banking application or similar on an Android. Can’t imagine what kind of shit my dad would have running on an Android device with all the fake fishing apps, bloatware, tracking etc going around. With a non jailbroken iPhone I have a lot more peace of mind.

> With a non jailbroken iPhone I have a lot more peace of mind. Ignorance is bliss.

As far as I know, the "jailbreak" is performed by using closed-source software that often is heavily obfuscated to prevent analysis. You cannot be sure that it doesn't install a backdoor as a bonus.

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#404

Post by jm238 »

So, about that Linux smartphone...

It doesn't have to be perfect: calls and texts should work, a camera and browser would be nice, and the complete freedom to use it and control it in the way the user wants.

The first run to sell maybe 1,000 or 10,000 units? My cash is waiting...

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#405

Post by jm238 »

wakkaflokka wrote: post #173
chiefalchemist wrote: post #91

This could trigger a new line of wearables, one with a Faraday Cage sewn right in. Right pocket is open, left pocket is a cage ;)

This is actually a fantastic idea. Please make it materialize!

Pun intended!

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#406

Post by dleslie »

Angostura wrote: post #301
dleslie wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is a lifestyle and fashion company moreso than a software or hardware company; yes, Nike makes shoes and Ralph Lauren sells shirts, but they are not best described as shoe or clothing manufacturers first and foremost. Jobs understood this.

if we're going that route, Google is an an advertising company, whose only goal is to harvest your data to maximise advertising revenue.

Yes, that is what it is.

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#407

Post by panda88888 »

glenneroo wrote: post #400
sjwright wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you massively overestimate the power of the US government. What would they do if Apple said no? Shut them down? Put Tim Cook in jail? Never going to happen. That perception of power might exist against mere civilians, but not against the big multinationals. Apple has engineered their products to be unbreakable by Apple. That says a lot about their desire to cooperate! Apple's billions held internationally are…

You underestimate the power of the NSA, CIA, FBI and in general the US government. They don't need to imprison the CEO or shut them down, there are subtle yet nefarious ways of getting what they want. Anyways let's forget this part, it's just speculation from both of us. According to their privacy policy[0], they comply with requests by the government for user data and inform the user unless gagged. > In the second h…

The data stored on newer iOS devices with hardware security enclave are unbreakable even by Apple, but the iCloud backups are accessible by Apple. That’s probably how the requests are fulfilled.

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#408

Post by code_duck »

fulafel wrote: post #384
code_duck wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get older models for about the same price as cheap Android phones - i'd much rather use a 5 or 5S than anything by Kyocera, for instance. I made the mistake of buying a cheap Andriod phone for $40 when I could have gotten a 4S for 50. The 4S would have had a superior camera, security and even typing performance. Currently I have a iPhone 6 that i got for 200, no contract. Seems pretty affordable to me. In Lib…

Yeah, but this works only as long as only few people want those :)

I suppose that would be true about $40 android phones too? I think Apple would be glad to sell however many iPhone 5s's for cheap because that's basically what the iphone SE is.

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#409

Post by smueller1234 »

posixplz wrote: post #312
smueller1234 wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fines are indeed substantial: up to 4% of annual turnover. On top of thay they can force you to shut down the service in question until remediated. For an e-commerce company that can be even worse than the 4%. Being fully compliant with GDPR is a mountain of work even if you thought you were doing all the right things before. In practice, small companies/ start-ups might not be audited / reported / pursued very m…

The fine is actually 4% of global annual revenue, or EUR100,000, whichever is greater.

Oh fair point. I propose we all start calling the 100kEUR minimum the "start-up clause". ;)

Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

#410

Post by whyagaindavid »

aleph_naught wrote: post #286
whyagaindavid wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a way to delete your data from Google or ms. Not Apple. BTW, there is no way to delete apple Id. Seriously try doing it. You cannot.

Not sure why you are being downvoted, but as someone who did try deleting an appleid, there is no self service way of doing so. Basically ended up removing all possible data; and filling the rest with fake values. Finally I changed the password to some random string. Not sure how much aux/opaque data remains that I could not see (eg location services), but this was secondary throwaway account, so I didnt care much.

It is sad hn users are too much apple biased.
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