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Android phones track your location no matter what

AlaskaGuy

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Android phones track your location no matter what, says report

Android devices seen covertly sending location data to Google

Beware! Google collects your location data even when you turn off tracking

Learn-to-Draw-Android-Logo-final-step-215x382.png
 

Old Lion

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WizardHawk

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You can't just post a headline like this and some links without putting up some general context. We know most people don't bother clicking the links and now simply think Google is spying on them.

For its part, Google confirmed that Android devices do indeed collect location data regardless of whether or not a user opts out of location tracking features. Google said the practice was the result of a feature that would have improved the speed and performance of message delivery.

With a device connected to the internet, it then transmits the address of a nearby cellphone tower, which provides an approximate location. If multiple towers are involved, however, a location can be triangulated within about a quarter-mile radius.

In other words, it is meant to keep triangulation of your current position to deliver messages to you quicker and wasn't more accurate than at best a quarter mile of your actual position.

The actual tracking feature uses your GPS which is obviously far more detailed and a greater risk given that google maps, for example, saves all of that tracking as a full detailed history of all movement you make and stores that somewhere. That risk, however low, of someone including the government being able to hack into or otherwise access that has valid privacy concerns.

A system that uses cell tower triangulation to figure out where your device is so it can communicate with it seems FAR less risky. It isn't stored anywhere (that is reported here anyway).

I keep my tracking and history on on purpose. I do a fair amount of travel for work and have had to prove my travel more than once. It is used to justify some of my expense reports. I'm just not worried about the government or some other entity tapping into that.
 

Ojb81

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So what?
 

Center Ice

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You can't even walk down a public street without being filmed by some security camera. Nothing new these days. Hell even Airbnb hosts are putting perv cams in the bedrooms. The only reason you'd keep tracking off on your phone is to keep the wife from knowing where you are.

Gone are those wonderful days (my youth) where you can make no end of fuck up's and there wasn't a hope of getting any evidence on film!!!! Fuck did I get away with shit!!!
 

WizardHawk

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Privacy valid discussion to have as is not wanting to normalize the full erosion of it as some general concept. Snowden bitched out and turned treason over what he claimed was privacy concerns and it's literally everywhere.

In this case though, the overall privacy impact is nominal if it even exists. It is more about the balance of privacy vs convenience with our technology and what our time is worth. When there is almost no risk and the trade off is faster and more accurate messaging the only issue here is not making it known to people this was happening and honestly I can't blame them for that either. Once it's out, NOW the hackers go try to find ways of exploiting it. So NOW there's a problem with it or at least a higher risk which is why they appear to be ending this practice.

Just offer up an opt in/out like the rest of your features and let the paranoid tin hat wearing people have their extra piece of mind while letting the rest of us get the most out of our technology. Seems like a simple fix.
 

Old Lion

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Yup, corporations suck. Especially the ones that pretend to be all socially wonderful. That is until it starts costing them money. When they cant pass those expenses on to consumers all of a sudden those causes get swept under the rug. It is all good when they can pat themselves on the back and make everyone think they are changing the world. That only lasts until it goes against there interests. Half the time they say they are doing something and then only start it, make it public so everyone thinks they are doing it and then dont follow through if there is not another PR opportunity down the road.
 

DJ

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You can't just post a headline like this and some links without putting up some general context. We know most people don't bother clicking the links and now simply think Google is spying on them.



In other words, it is meant to keep triangulation of your current position to deliver messages to you quicker and wasn't more accurate than at best a quarter mile of your actual position.

The actual tracking feature uses your GPS which is obviously far more detailed and a greater risk given that google maps, for example, saves all of that tracking as a full detailed history of all movement you make and stores that somewhere. That risk, however low, of someone including the government being able to hack into or otherwise access that has valid privacy concerns.

A system that uses cell tower triangulation to figure out where your device is so it can communicate with it seems FAR less risky. It isn't stored anywhere (that is reported here anyway).

I keep my tracking and history on on purpose. I do a fair amount of travel for work and have had to prove my travel more than once. It is used to justify some of my expense reports. I'm just not worried about the government or some other entity tapping into that.

Thanks......simpleton's would buy what the OP is spewing or implying.
 

DJ

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Merry Christmas (yes, yes, I know it's 2 weeks from Monday) and Happy Holidays everybody.
 

RobBase

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Yup, corporations suck. Especially the ones that pretend to be all socially wonderful. That is until it starts costing them money. When they cant pass those expenses on to consumers all of a sudden those causes get swept under the rug. It is all good when they can pat themselves on the back and make everyone think they are changing the world. That only lasts until it goes against there interests. Half the time they say they are doing something and then only start it, make it public so everyone thinks they are doing it and then dont follow through if there is not another PR opportunity down the road.

And it really appears to be getting worse, and more obvious how controlling some of these companies are. Google, Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, even some MSM news companies aren't even trying to hide their bias anymore. We're in the middle of an info war right now. Not only do they do funky stuff like gather your personal info and sell it off, but they control the great majority of what we see and read. Fascinating (yet somewhat scary) stuff.
 
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