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ICE buys tool to monitor millions of smartphones. Experts say it’s dangerous (www.independent.co.uk)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/privacy@programming.dev
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In a redacted acquisition document obtained by the tech news site 404 Media, the immigration agency proposes entering into a contract to buy “all-in-one” tools from a company called PenLink that will allow agents to “compile, process, and validate billions of daily location signals from hundreds of millions of mobile devices.” The document also mentions payments for services involving “face detection,” “advanced face search,” and a “dark web data feed.”

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[–] 2 points 1 year ago*

I think the problem is that once your phone knows its location from GPS, google and apps can access this data. The data is then shared with advertisers and also, you know, government agencies.

Unfortunately, even just the names of nearby WiFi networks and Bluetooth connections can be used to determine location. If apps and google services have access to this info, they still have location data on you, even with your cell and GPS radios disabled.

Supposedly GOS doesn't allow google or apps to access the location data unless you allow it, which is nice.

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