[aklug] Re: Google and Apple are gathering location information

I do to, but I'm not going to panic until I know what they're doing.

So far, I avoid Android & iPhones.

While I do have a phone w/ GPS, I have all "location based" services
turned off or disabled. I hope ;-)

As far as I know, all phones now sold in the US are pretty much required
to have a GPS receiver in them. I'm not certain we'll ever know with any
certainty any more whether we're being tracked or not. Short of getting
rid of our cell phones and anything else we have resembling a
transportable networking device anyway.

Jim G

On Fri, 2011-04-22 at 06:45 -0800, barsalou wrote:
> Quoting bryanm@acsalaska.net:
>
> >> Jury's still out.
> >>
> >> According to one source anyway, the news services reporting this don't
> >> know what they're talking.
> >>
> >> Gee. You mean there's a possibility the "mainstream media" doesn't know
> >> their "you-know-what" from a hole in the ground?
> >>
> >> http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/04/21/iphones-and-location-lets-not-get=
> -hysterical/
> >
> > I think the most reliable statement in this blog post is:
> > "So, it=92s entirely unclear to me what this data actually represents."
> >
> > Anybody can make a blog post, and say anything they want. That should
> > never, ever be confused with actual journalism.
> >
> > One simple explanation (among multitudes) is that the program used
> > to dump the data used incorrect parameters. Another possibility is
> > that Google and Apple have munged the data to slightly obscure it
> > from anyone who might stumble across it.
> >
> > This blogger hasn't done any actual research, he just futzed around
> > a bit and posted what he found along with his unconsidered opinions.
> >
> > The fact that corporations are tracking millions of people without
> > their knowledge should indeed set off alarm bells. Even if you trust
> > Google and Apple with that data (I, for one, don't), what if someone
> > else finds a way to access it -- say, a thief, stalker, violent ex,
> > or overzealous cop?
> >
> > Companies like Google and Apple do not, and will never, have your
> > privacy as a priority. If they can make a buck by violating it, they
> > will do so in a microsecond. If you want privacy, you have to go out
> > of your way to defend it. Who else will?
> >
>
> Call me crazy, but I agree completely with Brian's paragraph above. =20
> Especially the part about defending your privacy (and rights). Who =20
> else will, indeed.
>
> Mike B.
>
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Received on Fri Apr 22 13:51:38 2011