Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret

NY Times ^ | 12/10/2018 | JENNIFER VALENTINO-DeVRIES, NATASHA SINGER, MICHAEL H. KELLER and AARON KROLIK

[VanShuyten]

... Yet another leaves a house in upstate New York at 7 a.m. and travels to a middle school 14 miles away, staying until late afternoon each school day. Only one person makes that trip: Lisa Magrin, a 46-year-old math teacher. Her smartphone goes with her.

An app on the device gathered her location information, which was then sold without her knowledge. It recorded her whereabouts as often as every two seconds, according to a database of more than a million phones in the New York area that was reviewed by The New York Times. While Ms. Magrin’s identity was not disclosed in those records, The Times was able to easily connect her to that dot.

The app tracked her as she went to a Weight Watchers meeting and to her dermatologist’s office for a minor procedure. It followed her hiking with her dog and staying at her ex-boyfriend’s home, information she found disturbing. ...

[VanShuyten]

An interesting article with good illustrations on how anyone, even the dolts at the NY Times, can track anyone's movements if that person is careless about app settings on a cell phone. It works the other way, too. If you know the movements of the phone, you can ID the owner. They use nuclear power plant employees as one example.

Worth a quick read.

[Mears]

bfl

[cuban leaf]

My wife and I just started using an app called life360. We love it. I drive 75 miles to my work every day and 75 back. She can now track where I am on my commute. When I am at work I can see if she’s home and can actually “surprise her” if I know she’s somewhere like, say, at her boyfriend’s house. ;)

Just kidding about that last part.

The thing is, it means she knows when I leave work and she is literally putting the food on the table as I walk in the door. I LOVE it.So does she.

Now, if I ever am up to something nefarious, I’ll not take my phone with me. But so far I’ve not needed to.

One thing I find funny about it is when I was trying to get the app to work I searched the app and I found a TON of people trying to find out how to hide your location without letting those in your “group” know that you are hiding your location.

Pretty funny. I’m guessing it’s an infidelity thing.

[cymbeline]

I’m doing work in an area called IOT (Internet of Things) whose mission (a technical one, not a political one) is to develop spy-robots that can be put into or onto just about anything.

I don’t carry my cell phone except when travelling. I keep it turned off when not carrying it. I don’t trust the app settings on the phone.

[Yo-Yo]

"I know what you did last Summer."

[goldstategop]

When several people collaborate on a story, the more lies it contains.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

cuban leaf :" Pretty funny. I’m guessing it’s an infidelity thing."

Not at all !
Your privacy is now a commodity to be bought and sold, as is you coming and going; nothing to do with infidelity !
Somebody is making money over knowing your travel activities; it is justified since you paid nothing for the software application
so 'they' say...
I say Bullocks !!!
My privacy, my travels, my friends, my photos, my texts, my phone conversations belong to me
.. but they are for sale on 'Giggle', because I have an android phone !
I say F*** off !!
You didn't offer me an "opt in" ,or, "opt off" !
Screw your,.. AND YOUR ALLEGED 'UNIDENTIFIABLE' Surveillance !

[Paal Gulli]

No matter what you do it's still technologically posible to track you by which "cells" your phone is in contact with at any time. But there is a way to stop your phone ratting you out ... ...if you have an Android phone, ...

1) Root your phone (or find a kid to root it for you) ...

2) Install Android Firewall+
tinyurl.com/yd62xumz (links to G**gle Play Store) ...

3) Check logs to see exactly who your smartphone is communicating with ...

4) Block (by application) anyone who you don't want your phone talking to ...

Problem solved!

My phone still tries to communicate hundreds of times every day with Google Play services, Google Play Store, and others, but all attempts fail. Because AFWall+ blocks them.

I also replaced Google's Android OS [firmware] on my phone with a third party version called LineageOS, which removed all of G**gle's built-in spyware and crapware. But the process of switching has a pretty high "geek quotient."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LineageOS

[discostu]

It’s a post privacy world. You’re just making data.

[I want the USA back]

Good. Since I have not committed a crime, and will not, I’m don’t care that my movements are recorded. Quite a boring record, I’m sure.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Got is covered.

[cuban leaf]

I’m talking about hiding it from the people you agreed to share it with. :)

[aquila48]

That’s how map apps can display traffic info. Like so many things in life, things can be used for good or for bad purposes.

[ml/nj]

self ping

[reformedliberal]

Since I have not committed a crime, and will not, I’m don’t care that my movements are recorded
________________
One day, you (and all of us) may wake up to discover our very existence has overnight become a crime. The prior records of your movements will then be available to apprehend you.

Will you care then?

If it’s your spouse/kids/parents/friends?

If it’s the few political leaders who fight for what you believe?

That phone is a leash.

[Larry Lucido]

Facebook app: “Please rate the dark woods and shallow grave you visited last night with that duffle bag and entrenching equipment.”

[doorgunner69]

My apes know?

I own no apes............

[Faith65]

BKMK

[KrisKrinkle]

“When several people collaborate on a story, the more lies it contains.”

Presumably including threads like this.

[Psalm 73]

I only have a "flip phone" and keep it in the glove box of my truck.
They have no idea where I was, or am.