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 ;)
Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
91–100 of 422 posts
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#92It's amazing to me how many comments here excuse Google's behavior by offering the impractical "solution" of just not using a smartphone (a false dilemma) when the obvious answer is to get an iPhone. That's the advice of pretty much everyone in the infosec field and I'm sure some of them will attest to that in this thread.
> impractical "solution" of just not using a smartphone (a false dilemma) when the obvious answer is to get an iPhone. What is your life like to where you think not having a cell is impractical. In any case a smart phone is fundamentally a weak point in privacy/security no matter which one you get.
> What is your life like to where you think not having a cell is impractical.
In the 90s it was inconvenient to be out and about if you were expecting a call. You might be able to check your messages though, by dialing your answering machine from a payphone.
Payphones barely exist anymore, so it would be even more inconvenient. If you need to be reachable at all (nowadays by email/sms), a cell phone is nearly a requirement. If you do not need to be reachable, you still put yourself at a significant disadvantage by not carrying one.
What is your life like where you would not be inconvenienced by not having a cell phone?
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Apple and google is that Apple sells you pricey hardware, that just works Well, pricey hardware, at least. > In the case of google they sell you No, they aren't in the slave trade; they sell ad placement, not people.
If people were not be there to watch the ads, what would those placements be worth? It’s not the placement that’s the value that’s being sold, it’s watching the ads that is. So they definitely use your data to sell your attention, which is the currency you’re paying with.
> It’s not the placement that’s the value that’s being sold
Yes, it is ad placement that is the actual thing being sold. Advertisers hope to get something else out of it (usually sales), but what is actually sold is placement.
> So they definitely use your data to sell your attention, which is the currency you’re paying with.
No, they are selling the placement. The placement is valuable because, in aggregate, there is an expectation that a certain share of the people to whom it is shown will give some attention to it, but the advertiser generally pays by impression, not by seconds viewed × share of viewers attention devoted to the ad during that time.
But, in any case, either selling placement or attention is different than selling the user, which is a flatly inaccurate description used solely because of its emotional charge.
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
bob_theslob646, we have identified you as being the only person around while a murder was committed. We need you to come into the station.
They can do that with or without cell phones tracking you.
Not being purposely obtuse, just confused (or unimaginative). How?
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#95When I'm at work, I use my work computer, which has a long lived static IP, to log into my personal Google account. I have configured all of my browsers to clear cookies and storage upon closing. I never use signed-in Google Maps, but I sometimes use it from that computer, from fresh browser while logged out. A week ago, I moved from my previous home that was close to my work, to a different city about 20 miles away.…
This type of behavior isn't limited to Google. In Chaos Monkey (which is ancient technology at this point) he goes over how tracking can be accomplished across multiple devices. That aside, to have a setting that doesn't do what it says is disturbing. If that's don't be evil then what's their definition of evil?
[deleted]
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course, this is meaningless without context. Privacy from who? Security from what? What's the perceived threat we're trying to protect against? Everything is a tradeoff. To absolutely protect your privacy, you must never be seen in public or interact with any other party in any way.
This is sophistry, privacy in the sense that a private company is not continuously compiling a list of every location you visit throughout your life.
[deleted]
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
And? How does that matter? What's dangerous in them collecting my location information? I actually have location history in google maps turned on deliberately. You can't imagine how often it helped me to know where I was exactly, one and a half year ago, at a precise time. (That's how I managed to get a copy of my nexus 5x's warranty papers after it died on me) I don't really care about them collecting info about whe…
>And? How does that matter? What's dangerous in them collecting my location information? What's dangerous about them compiling your medical history? Who are you afraid of? Oh wait, that's a HIPAA violation. I wonder if they keep track of the location of every doctor's office you visit... and that abortion clinic... and that methadone clinic. Surely, nothing to lose there. The only information that isn't hackable, is…
[deleted]
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. The big difference between Apple and google is that Apple sells you pricey hardware, that just works. In the case of google they sell you. Thus, but Business Model alone you should not trust google if you care about privacy. It doesn’t make sense for them to stop collecting data points about you.
> Apple and google is that Apple sells you pricey hardware, that just works Well, pricey hardware, at least. > In the case of google they sell you No, they aren't in the slave trade; they sell ad placement, not people.
What's your hypothesis on why they collect so much data on people?
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#99It's amazing to me how many comments here excuse Google's behavior by offering the impractical "solution" of just not using a smartphone (a false dilemma) when the obvious answer is to get an iPhone. That's the advice of pretty much everyone in the infosec field and I'm sure some of them will attest to that in this thread.
Come on, there is nothing impractical about not using a smartphone. You’re free to invent any excuse you need to justify your use of it, but there is virtually nothing you need a smartphone for.
The obvious answer is not to get an iphone. Today it’s android, tomorrow it’s apple—you’re willingly using a massive closed stack to handle your location at all times. Trust is simply naive.
If you accept you’re trading privacy, security, and money for a massively convenient liability, you’ll be much happier.
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#100It's amazing to me how many comments here excuse Google's behavior by offering the impractical "solution" of just not using a smartphone (a false dilemma) when the obvious answer is to get an iPhone. That's the advice of pretty much everyone in the infosec field and I'm sure some of them will attest to that in this thread.
>the solution is to buy a (much more expensive) phone from this specific competitor
This sounds like advertising. Also, I'm fairly sure that Apple also sells data. Indeed, given current privacy laws, it's basically guaranteed that if a company has proprietary software, it is selling data from that software.