Thanks for including the mirror, OP.
Companies that obtain mobile phone location data generally do it in two different ways. The first is through software development kits (SDKs) embedded in ordinary smartphone apps, like games or weather forecasters. These SDKs continuously gather a user’s granular location, transfer that to the data broker, and then sell that data onward or repackage it and sell access to government agencies.
The second is through real-time bidding (RTB). When an advert is about to be served to a mobile phone user, there is a near instantaneous, and invisible, bidding process in which different companies vie to have their advert placed in front of certain demographics. A side-effect is that this demographic data, including mobile phones’ location, can be harvested by surveillance firms. Sometimes spy companies buy ad tech companies out right to insert themselves into this data supply chain. We previously found at least thousands of apps were hijacked to provide location data in this way.
I really despise these practices. I don’t know how people can build these tools with a clear conscience.
That’s easy. You just ignore your conscience because money speaks louder to these people.
Jesus fucking Christ. Time to delete the two games I’ve ever downloaded. Dunno if that even helps at this point.
It’s not specific to games, it’s all apps that have ads
I should have just went back to the flip phone like ten years ago.
I don’t know how people can build these tools with a clear conscience.
Have you seen the job market for programmers lately? It feels like it’s almost all for AI slop, abusive rentier middleman business models that add no real value,
defensewar contractors, or all of the above at once.That’s not to say that it’s acceptable for people to work those jobs with a clear conscience; it’s to say that for a bunch of people the only ethical options would be to remain unemployed or leave the industry.
I’ve been seeing exactly that. Reading through these job descriptions is a bit depressing. I can’t virtue signal my lack of morality and unthinking subservience to my potential employer hard enough to make cutoff to become “Director of AI Shilling” or a “Dark Pattern Consent Violation Engineer”.
I know the kind of environments that won’t work for me. This will always limit the jobs I can and can’t work and I’m generally okay with that. I would love some of that bountiful defence contractor money, but I can’t ethically justify doing work that harms others or limits their freedom. Advertising tech would have been a good fit for me… if I had no sense of ethics.
It’s a tough realization that my gaming consoles, GPS Smart Watch, and fancy modern over-engineered car only became possible because tons of money was poured into building out related tech for defence and surveillance.
I imagine the cognitive dissonance must be really strong in someone working for some of these companies that have monetized governmentally sanctioned or corporately opportunistic civil rights abuses. Then again, we’re often kept apart, working in our own little areas where we’re safe from having to see the whole horrifying machine.
It’s the same for anyone who works for Meta or MS or Google or Anduril or whatever these days: you look at your comp package that’s worth roughly half a million annually, and you say
They have been paying people to not have morals for quite a while now.
build these tools with a clear conscience.
Because if they don’t their masters they will become destitute and starve while homeless
And all social interaction happen at veiled gunpoint
Under these conditions it is no surprise at all that conscience plays no role whatsoever, it is just a savage free-for-all for survival happening under our cursed star, an insane 10 billion years long churning of thinking meat, consciousness behind birthed into the wreckage, screaming uncomprehendingly at what is happened until it soon it is just as easily, mercifully and meaninglessly snuffed out again.
Fortunately we have a shot at scorching the surface of this planet thanks to global warming and really the question is, can we make it happen before we genocide ourselves, leaving this planet’s biosphere still capable of sustaining the horrors of life ?
You should really talk to some real in-the-flesh people.
I met some real people this week, they were watching advertising.
They thought the government cared about them.
One wanted to upgrade their car to add another 100 horsepower they cannot use anywhere.
Another told me, he does not like raising cows but he had to get more cows to make it more economical to raise cows.
They were all bummed out that the end of the end of the week was upon us, and soon they would have to work 40 hours in the next 5 days, doing things they stopped liking doing a long time again, if they ever did at all.
Bro…my weather app is selling my data? 😦
I just wanted up-to-date travel conditions in a convenient widget. My taxes already pay for the meteorology, why do they need to sell my data too??
Because greed.
And useful idiots like /u/alaknar.
Show me one weather app that’s state-sponsored (therefore: paid by taxes) that sells data to boost income.
Nearly every weather app that exists is repackaging data from an official, tax funded source. Apps using weather underground data possibly being the only exception.
Show me one that doesn’t want location permissions and such. So now they’ve got Your data and can do as they please with it.
Nearly every weather app that exists is repackaging data from an official, tax funded source
The weather source. Not the application source. A dude needs to sit down and write that part.
Sure, and it would be cool if that dude didn’t pass my personal information to a third party.
Aaaand we circle back to THIS.
You’re having an argument with a voice in your head or something. I’m just going to tag you and go about my morning. Good luck with whatever it is you’re dealing with.
To be fair, a weather app does need to know my location to give relevant information.
Absolutely. Just don’t do anything shady with that information. I think that’s all anyone’s asking.
No it doesn’t.
It just needs to know what cities you care about.
If you want the weather info sponsored by your taxes, use the browser.
If you want a convenient widget, someone needs to make it, and the developer who made that widget needs to eat too.
You can either buy an app or pay with your data.
and the developer who made that widget needs to eat too.
He can eat without selling people’s data.
This isn’t about putting food on the table and you’re a dipshit if you believe otherwise.
He can eat without selling people’s data.
Yes. By making your app paid, not free. 90% of Apple Store/Google Play store users don’t want to pay for apps with their money.
This isn’t about putting food on the table and you’re a dipshit if you believe otherwise.
You’re childishly naive if you think it’s malice 100% of the way top to bottom.
Yes. By making your app paid, not free. 90% of Apple Store/Google Play store users don’t want to pay for apps with their money.
No, by doing something else with his life because developing an app is not an all-encompassing behavior.
You’re childishly naive if you think it’s malice 100% of the way top to bottom.
No, I’m just not a useful idiot going to bat for people making money off of me.
I, personally, have made significantly more complicated apps than what you’re defending and I don’t charge money for it or harvest my user’s data. I’m also not alone.
If we can do it, why can’t this scumbag? Oh yeah, because he has useful idiots like you going to bat for him.
Please, tell me more about how ignorant and innocent you are. It’s cute and predictable.
No, by doing something else with his life because developing an app is not an all-encompassing behavior.
Buddy, are you suggesting that software developers should “do something else to earn money”?
Are you high right now?
No, I’m just not a useful idiot going to bat for people making money off of me.
Go ahead. Quote the bit where anyone in this thread is batting for anybody.
I, personally, have made significantly more complicated apps than what you’re defending
I’m becoming fairly certain that you are high. What exactly am I defending…?
If we can do it, why can’t this scumbag?
We can’t have a discussion if you don’t understand some simple facts of life. Such as: “people need to eat”, or “eating costs money”, or “not everybody has the privilege of being a software developer as a side-gig”, or “not everybody wants or can be a farmer”.
Please, tell me more about how ignorant and innocent you are. It’s cute and predictable.
Get sober, then read what you wrote again.
Yeah, morons like you will fight tooth and nail to avoid admitting you’re being taken for a ride.
It’s in your blood and I don’t expect more.
Keep being stupid.
You’re desperately trying to spit on me, but forgetting we’re both behind computer screens. Get sober. Don’t spit on your computer.
You can either buy an app or pay with your data.
No this implies you get a choice, which you don’t. You can get it for free and sell your data, or you can pay for it…and still also sell your data. The real money is in the data, they won’t give that up…ever.
Can you use an open source weather app, or is the problem deeper than that?
I’m not the person who posted the widget issue, but IME many FOSS solutions (not just weather-related) are more often than not aesthetically/UX crap.
Yeah, that’s true. Often people will take the money from users AND from selling data. But you can (usually) verify if that’s the case by checking the app’s permissions required.
The point stands, however: you either pay for the software with money, or with data - with the only exception being the unusually rare FOSS project here and there, which either lives in relative obscurity or grows to become large enough for the creators to either start requiring money, or just fold under the load…
If my taxes can pay to develop a website, they can pay to develop a widget.
Then talk to your government, get them to make the app, not just the website. Go you!
This reminds me of something… What was it… Hmm…
And that was before the NSA leaks.
And in case it wasn’t already clear enough how absurd this all is, the creeps at Palantir are now actually so brazen as to officially call one of their mass surveillance systems “Project Gotham”…brave new world.
I guess calling it “Project Barad Dur” was a bit too on the nose after they named themselves Palantir.
Yes, maybe a bit much, but it would have been very fitting, since the marketing is obviously aimed specifically at the villains of the world—perhaps for the next project.
It’s quite telling of the times we live in that you can make it so obvious these days. You’d think that at least some concealment of the intentions behind these mass surveillance products would be appropriate, but I guess with people like Trump in the White House, Putin in the Kremlin, Netanyahu in Israel, and many others of that caliber, it’s no longer necessary.
If the government had a right to that data they wouldn’t need to pay for it, they could just subpoena it. But they don’t, so instead they’re paying middle men to circumvent our rights.
Yup. Look up tow truck companies, they track license plates with their readers and lease the data to police since police can’t track without a warrant.
Is it me or are these ice goons getting fatter everyday? Are they eating the immigrants?
Trump’s executive order just made anyone who is critical of his administrations criminal conduct a terrorist by royal decree. We all should be armed and prepared to defend ourselves and our families against tyranny. They’re “disappearing” people without accountability. The pedo king literally declared war on citizens for not conforming to his dictatorship. The military was instructed to commit war crimes against American citizens yesterday. ie:raping and pillaging. Am I misreading the situation?
Nope.
He should be tried and executed for treason, but those in leadership positions in our country have betrayed their oaths. That means we all need to be armed to the fucking teeth as soon as possible.
So they will know where I have been? Even though I am not American… I remember when the British government demanded that Apple give them that kind of information on all iPhone users all over the world and Apple told them to go fuck themselves.
This is some real bullshit.
Looking forward to joining you guys in the upcoming rebellion.
Hmm can’t seem to load the archive site so haven’t read the whole thing. Anyone know details of how this works? Are we all fucked if we have a phone or is staying off social media and hardening security with something like Graphene OS enough to keep you out of their system?
Please support 404media of you can. They have a free plan which helps or donate. As ypu can see, they do god’s work since he’s to lazy to do it.
Next we’ll be reading how android has removed the ability to disable location
Ever wondered what it would have been like if the gestapo had real-time awareness of every citizen’s location at all times? You’re about to find out.
Their job is to track, find, abduct, imprison and deport people. That skillset and logistic apparatus is as effective against everyone as it is immigrants.
The American Gestapo.
Uh huh. And it will work as well as tariffs.
Wym? Stingray devices work and they’re being actively utilized against the public.
Who needs a stingray when they built the backdoor right into the actual network.
Of course the US Government is using Israeli Spyware to track American citizens.
