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+--- Thread: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker (/showthread.php?tid=22119)
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - terracore - 01-08-2021
Phones also determine your location via wifi. Most people leave their phone GPS and WIFI on and as they drive roads etc their phone pairs the wifi signals it detects with GPS coordinates and sends the data to whatever corporation is providing the operating system (for example, an android phone sends this data to Google). Some people turn this "location assisting feature" off but so long as one person leaves it on the mothership is going to get the data from wherever they go.
Unless you physically move your wifi router to a different address, or turn off the SSID broadcast signal (which most people don't) whenever another phone picks up your router's Service set identifier (SSID) and Media Access Control (MAC) data it can establish it's location even if their GPS is turned off because the approximate coordinates for that signal are already known in the cloud. There is a similar feature for bluetooth signals but those are used differently because they are usually used by mobile devices. Third-party apps often times have access to that information as well. Turning off your GPS doesn't hide your location from them. Even if you turn off your phone's GPS, wifi, and bluetooth, your approximate location is still known because the phone triangulates it via the cell phone towers.
Apple has a feature in it's latest OS release where you can dumb down some of these features to protect your privacy. But it doesn't hide it, it only dumbs it down. For example if an app wants to know your location the phone will only report a generalized location. So like if you're in Hilo and lookup restaurants to eat it will know you're in Hilo and the app can recommend locations in Hilo, but it won't report specific information like what street you are on.
Law enforcement agencies have Stringray trackers. The layman's description is that they simulate a cell phone tower so a phone connects briefly and they can obtain your ID and location information. When your phone realizes it can't communicate beyond that it goes back to the nearest tower but your information has already been taken. This is how they recently located Ghislaine Maxwell. I believe they can be used without a warrant for mass surveillance similar to how license plate readers are used, though in some instances a warrant may be required before acting on the information gathered by the device.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker
Adjust your tin hats accordingly.
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - kalakoa - 01-08-2021
Don't forget that the OS vendor ultimately controls your device despite any "colorful twinkling lights" they may present as a "status".
Example: Google Play Services Layer will provide services to Google apps regardless of your settings.
I read somewhere that WiFi geolocation is actually more precise than other methods.
Stingray works by violating FCC regulations ("Federal felony") but nobody has gotten this into court.
ANPR is closer to the legacy concept of "public view" but that legal opinion was developed before technology made it possible to see everything all the time. The old-time "stakeout" was more "fair" because it was built on finite resources, thus making ubiquitous surveillance impractical.
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - CaptnCaveman - 01-09-2021
The radio (KWXX) reported today that the app would notify if you were in close proximity for fifteen minutes or more to someone who voluntarily reports contracting COVID. So the app seems kind of useless if a few seconds could be enough to transmit the disease.
The only time I'm in close proximity to someone outside of my household for more than fifteen minutes is when I'm standing in line to pick up a package at the Post Office.
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - HereOnThePrimalEdge - 01-11-2021
Earlier there was a post about a COVID tracking app in Singapore, and the potential that Hawaii’s COVID app could be used as a big brother monitoring device.
Here’s what it’s like in Singapore now, from Bloomberg:
At the dawn of 2021, Singapore is verging on normality:
* Last-minute dinner reservations are tough to secure
* Roads are full of traffic again
* Children are in school
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - eightfingers2.0 - 01-11-2021
Caning is a punishment in Singapore....
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - blizzardwizard - 02-21-2021
If you don't have to type in a wifi's name it's public. It's public because the router is screaming in radio "hello my name is 'Mr router 27349834898' aka "bill wi the science fi." I stand still and tell everyone my name" If data brokers are selling data that directly ties geo co-ordinates to specific SSID's that's truly messed up, but probably legal, buried in the terms and agreements of expedia travel or something but I wouldn't be surprised if it came out that people were constantly wardriving for google against everyone else.
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - kalakoa - 02-21-2021
Wifi position tracking is more accurate than cell towers.
They also use bluetooth beacons to track your movement around retail stores.
Privacy is obsolete.
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - blizzardwizard - 02-22-2021
It seems there is a database of billions of SSID's, probably every single one that doesn't end in _nomap, in other words every single one I have ever seen. This is truly terrifying as any application based on wifi could passively collect nearby signal names throughout the day and pay a fee to stalk you through a database API, without having to give the app location permission. All that being said, I haven't seen anything like that sort of data emanating from my phone when I have installed temporary certificates to monitor app behavior, but If mass stalking is taking place using this data, it should be destroyed for the good of the people.
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - TomK - 02-22-2021
I can't think of a reason why the government would want to mass-stalk the population and if it really worries you, then just turn your phone off or leave it at home.
RE: AlohaSafe Alert COVID Tracker - leilanidude - 02-22-2021
With so many phone plans having unlimited data, just don't turn on WiFi and leave Bluetooth off unless you need it for using your phone, hands-free, in the car.