I leave my smartphone at home and take my janky flip phone when I am on a clandestine run. Just to keep them for asking what I think of certain businesses in the area...soon the carriers won't let you buy a janky flip phone because then they can't in on the advertising revenue.
4
Folks that don't carry smart phones b/c of data sharing are the folks who read 1984 at the most impressionable time in their life and they sewed its themes to the inner lining of their hearts. Forever. Are we really in specific danger b/c apps know where we are? If you don't carry a cell phone are you really safer than me? If you think so, please be very specific as to why. Be more specific than you've ever been in your life. B/c I definitely don't mean the easy to grab dystopia fears that are so vague but yet can run and run and fill everyone's brain with darkness and dread. And loneliness and regret. What I am talking about is are you safer tomorrow. Were you safer than me yesterday b/c you don't have a smartphone? I doubt it. I submit that the life peril you are in and the life peril I am in have nothing to do with the fact that you don't have a smart phone and I do.
There are still a couple of people in North America who are not using a smartphone with apps. But to paraphrase Carl Sagan, I suppose absence of phone tracking is not evidence of absence of tracking and there are still other ways to monitor people (such as EZPASS).
I love it cuz I figure that when there are no more secrets, there will be no more lies. And since we all lie not just to each other but even to ourselves, maybe a radical, unflinching honesty may be exactly what's needed for us to heal ourselves and our culture.
Up next in our rapidly expanding techno-revolution? --- devices which will make lie-detectors seem positively antediluvian. When your inner most thoughts -- those hidden even from yourself -- become knowable, then what?
This is absolutely terrifying. And, short of giving up our smartphones, there is nothing we can do about it (of course our elected officials won't help, the companies that benefit from this data fund their campaigns).
Abandon either your smartphone or any hope of privacy.
3
The article focuses on use of cellular data for tracking. It neglects the use of WiFi (802.11) for tracking as well. WiFi tracking is in use in many retail stores. The information gathered by 802.11 is anonymous in nature but the phone's wifi broadcasting identifies the phone's unique id and all the WiFI networks the phone "knows". Based on the set of WiFi networks the phone has joined a lot can be inferred about the user - including where they work and even their gender. The retail stores then track very precisely how the customer moves about in the store.
An example vendor in this space is Euclid Analytics in San Francisco.
4
Well, NYT, this is a great article but maybe your organization should be more forthcoming about what and how you're tracking your own customers. I've been a printed version subscriber/reader for years and only read the e-version when the print is unavailable. I find it annoying and intrusive when I'm recommended articles "I might like to read" or "I might have missed". I feel like I'm being stalked inside my personal reading space! The reason I still choose the print version over the e-version is that I'm not bombarded by all these annoyances and. I find that I read more articles from all sections of the paper. Not to mention, old newspapers make great painting drop cloths.
5
I think the NY Times should have specified that governments and cell phones companies have had access to this kind of data via good old not-scary feature phones for years.
Who knows what NSA has?
What's really new is that we're now in a decentralized society (maybe more democratic) where a myriad of small actors also have access to it.
From the comments, it seems a number of the NY Times readers are confused about this.
1
Not mentioned is the fact that this same tracking can be used to locate a missing person, a consideration many women make when looking at turning off locations on their phones. I certainly have.
Yes, it is all very intrusive and we need to know where that information is and how it is used but it can be the thing that saves someone's life. Just turning location off or deleting problematic apps is not the whole answer here.
How is the FaceBook algorithm able to listen to my conversations? I've never written anything about shopping at a certain store, don't live near it, don't go near it, but have mentioned going there to my sister to buy stuff for a friend's birthday, then it shows up on my FB feed. I've never been naive about this and actually tell my computer to "stop listening to me" regularly because it happens too often to be a coincidence. I'm not schizophrenic and I don't hear voices. I live in the UK where there are strict privacy laws. The store ads are for TK Maxx, not TJ Maxx, so I know it's local. Listening, not just tracking.
5
This article doesn't doesn't make it clear that the cell phone towers are used triangulate and calculate the position of every cell phone in cell mode, constantly. This information is all recorded, and the carriers who manage the towers (ATT, Verizon, etc.) are unrestricted as to how this personal data is used.
As a result, your location data is collated and marketed even if you use only a dumb function phone.
2
PRIVACY is a philosophical issue, not something that should be constrained simply due to the emergence of digital technology.
2
This all should be common knowledge, and if the government was the entity vacuuming up all this tracking information, I expect many people would be howling and marching in the streets. Yet this technology is used by commercial entities every day, and largely we hear crickets.
We may demand a right to privacy in the courts, but we have largely given away our privacy for the modest convenience of the technology we carry in our pockets.
3
The violation of privacy is frightening and disgusting, but not surprising. And that's why I absolutely refuse to carry a cellphone.
The situation grows worse each day as more people use smart appliances and voice activated assistants like Alexa at home. Just imagine how a dictatorship of the right or the left could spy and control every aspect of your life. It will be 1984 and Brave New World on steroids.
The time has come to crack down on these practices and make them illegal. We must demand action before it's too late.
A life without privacy is a life without dignity.
42
First, it will be businesses wanting to sell you something.
But how long until governments figure this one out?
I have been browsing casually for items online...not even buying...only to find ADS for these items popping up in my windows. HOW DO THEY KNOW about this? it's almost like they are mind reading. They must be viewing and collecting literally every page click.
If they know I have pets, and buy toys for a grandchild...they can ALSO KNOW my political views on every subject, and my credit card bills, and where I live and my daily routines. HOW SCARY IS THAT?
7
“Illegal” is a bit strong, Noodles. I resisted getting an Alexa device for ages because I am a private person and I am naturally suspicious of such things. But I am also a fairly boring person in my day-to-day life...and I have suffered some bad falls in my home. I now have two Alexa devices who read Audible to me, play music when I tell them to, and will contact my spouse if I fall and can’t reach the phone. It’s a pretty good trade off for any spying the device may do while listening for the “Alexa” cue. The newer devices emit a tone when they are awakened by their name, by the way. So they don’t just sneak up on you.
If you want to be really freaked out, I have read that smart TVs connected to content providers do listen to you. If it has a microphone and is connected to the internet, anything is possible. I keep all computer and electronic device cameras covered up just in case. Maybe there is a market for electronic-device ear plugs?
2
The slowly creeping surveillence state is happening and we are all being causght in the net. There is no way to return to an analouge world without steeping out of society. If you are in the working world, you can not escape it.
I am glad that I am not a millennial, they are going to live most of their lives without any privacy, even of their own thoughts. Their devices "know" and share everything about them, even if they aren't aware of it.
20
Someday in the not-too-distant future, all the people who remember a time before smart phones, Alexa, etc. will be gone and everyone remaining will never have known anything else. The very concept of privacy is changing and it has been traded for the beads and trinkets of "convenience" and "connectedness."
They can have it.
16
But you can opt out. Even if you feel you must use a smart phone for your job, you can turn it off for periods of time or leave it somewhere other than on your person. And don't get me started with the foolish adoption of useless smart speakers that people willing bring into their homes to gather personal data. Unless one is physically handicapped there is absolutely no function a smart speaker can do that an individual cannot by getting up and flipping a switch.
14
The biggest potential threat to individual rights from this constant location tracking (and all passive tracking) is when the information is subpoenaed. As a stringently law abiding person, though, I’m not totally against it. In theory.
What I do worry about is identifiable medical records — or any medically pertinent information, such as “lifestyle” choices — falling into the hands of insurance companies. A few years ago the medical group I use aggressively lobbied patients to participate in a long-term breast cancer study. They even called patients at home to pressure them to sign off on it. Agreement meant your medical records would be open to anyone even tangentially related to the study, for five years. Absolutely no freaking way I was going to agree to that.
2
This should illegal.
4
But why is it bad? Just because I get a personalized ad, it doesn't mean I'm going to live my life according to what they're selling. Consciously, as much as I'm aware of, I have never bought something because of an ad.
My Android phone is OFF 95% of the time. When I turn it on, I suppose it collects this information and transmits it to the cyber-world. But isn't simply having the phone OFF a lot of the time a good way to limit all this? For most people, it seems like turning the phone on to get info and messages at 2 hour intervals would do the trick. One of my major uses for my Android phone is GPS, and then I obviously want it to track my location. When I arrive, I turn it off. Most places I drive do not require GPS, so my phone is off then.
2
I have a dumb phone. It is no longer supported, has no apps, but will connect to 911, which is why I have it. My family has the number, which I don't remember, so they can reach me if they have an emergency. I do not share my cell number with anyone else. There are a lot of wide open spaces around here, and if I need help, I have my dumb phone. Because I'm smart.
15
You location is determined by traingulating cell tower data whenever you are in range of multiple cell towers. That location collated and marketed by your carrier.
Here in Montana, a young family was recently killed in a wreck that was not visible from the highway, in this case the interstate. They were found when law enforcement pinged their smart phones. You, like me, live in a similar environment where you can literally be lost yards from a highway or trail. And if you are a woman, that could be even more harmful.
I don't like having my phone tracking me and I want to know who and what is doing the tracking, but I recognize that this technology has benefits that as a woman especially, I should not turn my back on.
1
Jean Boling,
I live in Mexico City and do exactly the same as you for the same reasons -- except that I do remember the number because I pay the dumbphone bill :-)
2
If you are puzzled or tell me the way to go home ...your investigation apps will reveal all clues ,short and easy ...you are saved !
I can only ask myself, How ignorant and evil must one be to allow ones self to even entertain the idea of doing this, never mind actually doing it as has been done, just to be able to make money and possibly manipulate people?
1
Why does the New York Times not mention the apps by name (at least the ones relevant to the lives of the people the Times tracked)?
1
Steve Jobs got this right along time ago and here it is when the great Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher (now of the NYT) interviewed him about this very thing.
https://www.wsj.com/video/steve-jobs-and-andy-rubin-on-privacy/0C882D81-DD73-4013-ADDF-4A7D35FA98E3.html
How about taking all the info gathered for this story and spelling out which apps and companies engage in various practices with user location data? It would be pretty easy to take those 20 apps, break down they do into various categories and make a table that would be easy to digest. Then the reader would have a useful report on each app instead of so many cases of "some."
"To evaluate location-sharing practices, The Times tested 20 apps, most of which had been flagged by researchers and industry insiders as potentially sharing the data. Together, 17 of the apps sent exact latitude and longitude to about 70 businesses.
...
"More typical was theScore, a sports app: When prompting users to grant access to their location, it said the data would help “recommend local teams and players that are relevant to you.” The app passed precise coordinates to 16 advertising and location companies."
...
"Some companies say they delete the location data after using it to serve ads, some use it for ads and pass it along to data aggregation companies, and others keep the information for years."Precise location data from one app, WeatherBug on iOS, was received by 40 companies. When contacted by The Times, some of the companies that received that data described it as “unsolicited” or “inappropriate.”"
3
Apologies for the paragraph breaks not holding. Some of the analyzed info is available here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/technology/location-tracking-apps-privacy.html
1
Hi, Bebop.
It's a good question. In addition to that methodology, we have a Q&A about location tracking that may explain why we felt highlighting a list could in fact be misleading and give people a false sense of security: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/technology/prevent-location-data-sharing.html
We wanted to tell people about how we did the testing and which apps we reviewed, without limiting the apps they considered on their phones.
4
While this article certainly makes it seem scary, it is pretty easy to control when you phone is letting programs/apps track you or not. And if you use a program/app which doesn't give you the option to have it only track when the program is actively being used, you should probably delete the program/app and find a replacement which give you more control over when it can spy on you.
On a related point: I know that Europe has much stronger privacy regulations than the US. Would it be allowed to collect and sell data in Europe in the way described here? If not, their regulations could serve as a model for how to protect users.
25
I work as a data analyst at an advertising agency, post GDPR (General Data Protection Rule) we are unable to use any "Personally Identifiable Information" - this includes information which where we could use a second database to figure out who it is (like an address database combined with location data).
However, having these protocols and regulations in place is one thing. Everybody abiding to them is another. Advertising agencies tend to blacklist suppliers who handle data poorly, however there are definitely companies who still collect data without explaining how it's being used. In theory under GDPR opting out of cookies should be as easy as opting in. However this is not always the case.
6
You can still collect and sell data in Europe in this manner...websites just need to be more clear about it up front in those countries.
I've disabled location tracking as long as it's been an option and I've been warning people of this for well over a decade.
The respond I *always* get... "I don't care."
And that's how we got here. People have not and will continue to not care about being tracked, and it will only get worse.
27
I get the same reaction about privacy and security, so much so that I have stopped advising friends on what to do.
For anyone who is interested, though, google "turn off significant locations iPhone."
Also, these apps that people are downloading...weather, local sports teams...pretty weak stuff to get in exchange for divulging your location every two seconds.
Try turning location services off completely whenever you don't need a specific app like google maps. And you probably don't need google maps when you're driving or riding the train to work or when you're dropping your kid off at school. Then just leave it off until you actually need a mapping service.
7
You haven't disabled it, or you could not even make phone calls.
Govt and cell phone companies still have access thru it...
M.A.A,
You're right -- until they get hurt badly or lose a loved one. Commonsensical foresight isn't all the rage anymore.
For starters, all those "User Agreements" that are virtually impossible to read should be banned and replaced with a simple, universal agreement that protects users. And, you should not be forced to "Agree" to an over reaching User Agreement for apps that are ubiquitously used.
18
Any policy or practice that infringes on the user's privacy should always be opt-in and not opt-out. That will never happen of course, but that's how it should be.
11
Regarding all the people that proudly say "I don't use a smartphone", well, that's just not practical in today's world for most people. And the people that tell me they don't have a cell phone or computer, I usually ask if they have electricity?
Do you drive a car? 50,000 people die in accidents and many more injured.
So, the solution is not about disconnecting and disengaging with the flow of the world, but creating a fabric of laws that protect us while using these devices. That's why cars have seat belts and roads are designed by safety engineers.
By law, Smart phones should have safeguards.
46
"Regarding all the people that proudly say "I don't use a smartphone", well, that's just not practical in today's world for most people."
That's just silly. Of course it is. It may be relatively less convenient in some situations, but it's still very possible. I can't think of a single reason why most people would *need* a smart phone.
5
Don’t quite see the connection to “Do you have electricity? Do you drive a car?”. That’s a bit of a non-sequitur, JD. Data is collected, compiled and sold from everything we do. Your wattage consumption is data. The car mileage you report to your insurance company each year is valuable data. Your credit card usage, your choices at the grocery store, even the number and species of pets you own (discerned from pet food purchases or paying vet bills) — all of it is useful, marketable information. There is even a new area of medicine centered around analyzing collated (and supposedly safely anonymous) medical data to find and predict disease trends. We cannot opt out of any of that data collection because it is beyond our control. But we can choose to decline tracking on that which we do control. It’s not a black and white choice of either opting for full-on modernity or Luddism (seat belts have nothing to do with smart phones, John). The question — and the choice — is whether you truly need to have your phone turned on 24 hours a day. Or the GPS in your car. No one needs to be “on” lol the time. The world kept turning when we all had land lines.
1
Why is not having a smartphone not practical? A phone still works to make calls. If I need a computer to look things up, there's one on the desk.
I'm not sure what I'd do with one if I paid the insane entry fee. Unlock my car door?
1
I hope we don't allow the industry and its apologists to keep saying, "Come on, you know you have to pay something for these 'free' services." Sure, we know we're the product and we know we'll be bombarded with ads (that strangely don't seem any more relevant or enticing despite all the spying and snooping, but that's an aside for another story), but it's dishonest to say people know the degree to which they have been spied on and dossier'd. Let's turn it back to the apologists: If you think people are already comfortable with this, then by all means put up a big screen notice saying "Allow app to use your location data? We will follow your movement to the Planned Parenthood Clinic, just as we did last week."
19
To those who smugly respond that we should have known what we're getting into -- even those of us who are familiar with technology and privacy settings can't do all that much to stop it. It's no longer viable to live in a world without a smartphone. We need it for our emails, work and personal, which we're expected to access at all time. Many people rely on Uber and Lyft instead of buying their own cars, or when they do drive, use Google Maps or Waze. And forget the societal and national security concerns about being able to track people who work in classified environments or with healthcare patients!
It's gotten to the point where we as individuals cannot prevent shady 3rd parties from tracking us -- we need consumer protections from governments. It's time we started caring.
15
I never purchased a smart phone in the first place, and have been absolutely fine. I speak from personal experience that it's possible to get rid of it.
You don't need access to work OR personal emails all the time. That's a question of expectation management. Put an auto-reply message "I will respond to your message when I have time." People will get the idea :)
You can still use uber and lyft from a traditional computer. There is no need to use their apps.
When you drive you can use a tomtom or other standalone GPS platform. You could also (gasp) use actual paper maps, or direction you write down on paper.
2
Ben, using Uber or Lyft from a computer all of the time is inconvenient. If I'm out to dinner and want a Lyft home, I don't want to drag a computer around so that I can get one. While pre-scheduling is an option, it's not always feasible. A compromise would be to turn on location services when you need an app that absolutely needs to know where you are. You can turn it off once you get in the car or once you get home.
2
The first step in recovery, Lisa, is to recognize you are addicted.
You're not there, yet.
2
I have the number of apps on my phone that Trump has...scruples. I have declined, in settings, to let even the phone maker know my location, though it is probably tracked anyway. But I can remove the battery and make my location dark to anyone seeking to know where I am. Good luck with accomplishing that on your smart phone.
The cell phone user tracking and the sale of personal data is not surprising. Data on users has always been the main currency of cyberspace and the information economy. What does surprise me is that anyone would give the NYT permission to print the details of her life, particularly because she says she is bothered by people knowing so many facts about her. I hope she fully understood the implications of this. You don;t want to announce to the world that you,leave your home at X time and return X hours later, every day of the week.
Wow! Big surprise. Ever since the Patriot Act's approval and the incessant republican fear-mongering which has been ongoing for almost two decades now, anyone with any illusion of privacy should have their head examined (keep in mind, the result of that examination is not likely to be kept private either...).
1
Apps:just excellent commodities for trade subjugated to the well known economic laws of value and utility ...
1
What about the "well known" fact that people often abuse such things to get more than was ever intended from them usually to the detriment of others?
I often hear people say if you're not paying for the product, you are the product. I always assumed when I pay for weather apps, my data is still being handed over to a third party. I pay for an Android tablet, Google can still monitor my location along with collecting much more data. I pay for Windows 10, Microsoft monitors how I use the operating system and can send it back to Microsoft.
It's creepy to think about hackers gaining access to a huge database of location data and can somehow match it up to a large amount of people.
2
To those recommending to turn off the GPS and to deny the applications to turn on the location service, it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't prevent your service provider to know your location with a high accuracy thanks to cell towers triangulation and the positioning reference signals.
My phone is either turned off or out of cell tower range most of the time. I suspect many people might be happier if they turned off their phones more often.
How do people think these apps make money? If you're not the customer, you're the product -- and people seem perfectly happy not paying a cent for useful services, and act shocked when they find that companies are using their data. If they start paying for the services they use, then they'll have a leg to stand on when it comes to complaining about data usage.
2
I use an iPhone and am often asked - when opening an app for the first time - whether I will allow it to track me either when I'm using it or at all times (or never). This seems like a perfectly reasonable policy, and I'd have no objection against it being codified into law.
That said, I think mobile phone users on whole need a reality check that app developers don't release their products for free out of the goodness of their hearts. To borrow some industry jargon, they have to monetize the apps in some form or another, and the most common means of generating revenue from either the web or mobile devices is via advertising. Almost the entire point of online ads, in both cases, is the ability to hypertarget the consumers most likely to be interested in a given product or service, and that targeting ability - by necessity - requires knowledge of an individual web-usage habits. In the case of mobile ads, which are often geotargeted (delivered based on a user's location), this extends to knowing their general whereabouts as well. Giving up a degree of privacy is the price you pay for using Google, Facebook, Instagram, Gmail, or any other app or website available for free.
There's also an easy way to opt out of all of this tracking, if you're truly bothered by it all: switch back to using an old-school flip phone. The operative question, then, is whether you be willing to give up all of the conveniences afforded by smartphones.
2
I manage, absolutely fine, and am lacking for NOTHING in my life -- with an old flip phone.
If this isn't a wake up call what is?
It's wrong to say that people are naive or that they didn't read the fine print. . The conceptual issue is unless you work in technology you understand your computer or phone from one side of the screen only, not understanding that on the other side of the screen the entire systems is open.
This is beyond outrageous and once again our regulators have been literally asleep at the wheel.
1
This is a great interactive piece. Appreciated the link to how to change app settings to private on my iPhone.
2
They know if you've been sleeping, they know when you're awake.
They know if you've been bad or good......
6
We have given up our rights to privacy a long time ago. The intimacy of the data should not surprise us because we should have realized when we put a GPS in our pocket everyday. It is too late to reverse this because people are too ignorant to care.
8
Most of these comments seem tremendously naive. We have been followed since birth, through childhood and into adulthood long before smart phones were a gleam in Steve Jobs' eye. The birth certificate issued by state or county governments, the DMV, the IRS, the state franchise tax board, schools, employers and now grocery stores, gas stations, banks and a multitude of businesses if we participate in their rebate programs (and we're probably followed even if we don't sign up for those programs).
There is no privacy, people. What about car GPS systems even if they are not obviously activated? (I prefer to use my phone GPS). Don't forget this technology can be useful to locate a driver who's been in an accident in the middle of nowhere.
Technology can be wonderful. I want to know the weather when I'm out of town; I want to know the traffic flow when I'm traveling. I really don't care that I'm being tracked. I only care about my account access or if I'm being followed by a drone.
Prioritize your paranoias. I've had it with spoofing and the phone companies need to do something about that NOW! I'm done with calls on my regular phone which are fraudulent. I block every suspect number. I've paid tens of thousands of dollars to the phone company through the years and they can't (won't) fix this?
Worry about whether or not your vote got counted. Worry about everyone (Russians, political parties, corporations) who is trying to interfere with our democracy.
2
How "1984".
I'm still landline.
I don't need this aggravation or blow-by paranoia.
Help me out, here. Does anyone remember the NYTimes article of about 3 weeks ago where the nannies of the children of Silly-con Valley had to agree that they would not let their charges anywhere near a screen - ANY screen?
It seems that the parents fear there is a harm that can come to the child if they do screen time.
Then, last night, on "60 Minutes" there was a segment on the brain scans of a thousand (?) children that will be followed over a long period of time to see if there are detectable abnormalities to the brain's development.
Given that the nannies are being ordered to never let the child near a screen, I would suspect that someone already knows that there is a problem.
Thanks, and could any one give me a link to that Times article?
3
"... could any one give me a link to that Times article?"
Yes, but it would be better if you knew how to find it yourself. :-)
1. Type "nannies screens" in the search box at the top of the Times's home page.
2. Google "nannies screens site:nytimes.com".
I prefer reading the NYT on print, but this article was made for the online version. Excellent design!
Speaking of design, this issue relates to that: most consumers do not easily see within the legalese how their location is tracked and sold. Most people scroll down to "Accept" and click on it. Instead, Federal legislation is needed where easy to read fonts and colors are used at the very beginning. Let people know this app is *free, but in exchange companies are tracking everything mentioned here. I know the EU is ahead of the US in terms of data privacy, but we can go further than the Europeans.
Also, another problem with this issue is how few choices we have with smartphones, search engines, ecosystems, etc. I either use an Android or iOS if I want the convenience and power vs. going back to a dumb phone, MP3 player, GPS, etc. Google's entire business model is built on selling away my personal data and tracking me. Apple does better, but it still knows that many people use Google's ecosystem like Gmail, Google Maps, and so on.
Some questions: If the wifi is off, and location services is off, am I still being tracked (now that I've turned off everything but maps.me)? How about if I SHUT DOWN the phone?
I knew there was a reason why I use my 'smart' phone as a 'dumb phone', just talk and sms, unless traveling. I keep the wifi off -- always, unless I absolutely need it. I have about 10 apps -- most are offline dictionaries (Icelandic, anyone?). I just went through my privacy settings, however, and was shocked to see how much of the non-deletable software has location tracking. Why do 'memos' need to know where I am? Esp as I don't use it at all! Or my calendar? That I also don't use on my phone. How about my photo gallery? with only about 20 images...
Frightening stuff. Winston Smith was correct, wasn't he now...
5
"How about if I SHUT DOWN the phone?"
That should work, although "Airplane Mode" would be more convenient. Note that "Airplane Mode" is misnamed -- it disables transmitters, but you can then manually reenable WiFi, for example, so it is not really a "mode".
"How about my photo gallery?"
That could be a reasonable application of location recording -- the photo file contains a record of where it was taken.
See, however:
"Add, edit, or remove a location from a photo"
https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6153599
1
Who knew that Big Brother would turn out to be not just the government, but a whole collection of high-tech enabled companies targeting you to buy low-fat yogurt, streaming films by the same director whose film you saw last week, gym memberships, hiking boots, and low-cost package tours for you and your partner!
2
This is something I worry about since I'm required to have certain apps on my phones. As a physician, the multiple hospitals I work at require certain apps for simply getting things done. Who knows what these apps sell of my info. As a physician in a desirable economic group, I'm sure this data is valuable and I have no control over its dissemination, monetary reimbursement, etc.
2
What's not discussed is the data collection and dossiers that are compiled of our children. All of it is out there. Including all of their class work done on those Google Chrome books given to each and every student.
Mind you, these are not used in any of the schools of the children of Silicon Valley execs.
All most all kids today have smart phones so they're being surveilled as well.
6
Quote from article: Ms. Magrin, the teacher, noted that she liked that tracking technology let her record her jogging routes. End quote.
There are many apps that will record your route for you to see later and/or upload to your computer to see on Google Earth (for example).
There is absolutely no need to let advertisers have your data in order to use your phone for your movement history.
Disable as many as possible. Disable them all for that matter. Then when asked for location data, check out the fine print.
1
[[Allen Braun Upstate
Quote from article: Ms. Magrin, the teacher, noted that she liked that tracking technology let her record her jogging routes. End quote.]]
It's absurd. She's 46 years old...she's not training for the Olympics. There's no way she's "jogging" far enough or changing her route often enough for that data to be useful.
What she''ll probably need are ads for an orthopedic surgeon to replace her knees and hips.
3
What about wifi and being tracked inside a store? Is that a thing? Like, you linger in front of the jeans at a GAP and then you get ads for jeans on your phone? Is that a thing? Or is GPS even more useful and precise?
4
Yes, it's very useful. You're tracked every time you go inside a big box store. The data is traded with Google and Apple, your cell phone carrier, your credit card company, and the company's router/Internet provider. It's all tied up in a neat bow. They know exactly who you are, where you are, and what you're buying. Stores even get to see where their customers go before and after they go to the store!
1
As the article explains, you have to install an app that reports your location (whether you know it or not).
If you are concerned, disable GPS (high accuracy) location detection and put your phone in "Airplane Mode".
Anyway, retailers already have tracking technology. For a state-of-the-article example, see:
Inside Amazon Go, a Store of the Future
The technology inside Amazon’s new convenience store, opening Monday in downtown Seattle, enables a shopping experience like no other — including no checkout lines.
By Nick Wingfield
Jan. 21, 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/21/technology/inside-amazon-go-a-store-of-the-future.html
Yes, it is a thing.
1
The only surprizing thing is that anyone thinks this obvioius use of tech is surprizing. What did you think the plan was? Do you really trust a mega corp with your data? The opportunities for abuse are enormous and this abuse will happen or is happening now. This information will be used to stifle freedom of speech. Your location and travels will be used for blackmail. Your location and your children's will be used for kidnapping. Your actions will result in lawsuits generated by an AI. You house will be entered and robbed when Alexa is hacked. You will lose you job when you do something your employer does not like. You will have a "Social Credit Score" based on your movements, purchases and actions just like China. The answer is to get rid of your device, you don't need them. If you want to see your friends, go see them. Nobody cares about the rest and the so called sales are big ripoffs.
2
[[Tibby Elgato West county, Republic of California 20 minutes ago
The only surprizing thing is that anyone thinks this obvioius use of tech is surprizing.]]
If you're so cheap that you're using "Gas Buddy" to save a few pennies on a tank of gas and you're willing to surrender your location data for the privilege, you get what you deserve.
You're on a 1/8th of a tank. Turn on location services. Open google maps, tap the microphone, say "gas," drive to nearest station. Turn off location services. Get on with your life.
1
Where are the people who represent us? Is no one able to stand up, say this is not OK with my constituents, and put a stop to it? Apparently the government, which supposedly represents the interest of the citizens, has given big business tacit permission to be just as deceitful and underhanded as it is.
6
"Where are the people who represent us?"
The article cites "[US] Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, who has proposed bills to limit the collection and sale of such data, which are largely unregulated in the United States."
In the EU, there is the "General Data Protection Regulation":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation
1
Times: "... the apps sent exact latitude and longitude ..."
There is no such thing as "exact". If the apps are using *GPS* data, then locations are "high accuracy", which is the term used in Android.
Times: '“I went through all their phones and just told them: ‘You have to turn this off. You have to delete this,’” Ms. Lee said.'
That's not too helpful to everyone else. See the related Times article*, which includes screenshots for Android and iOS. However, that article doesn't mention other possible countermeasures:
* Setting "Airplane Mode".
* Turning off the phone.
* How to Stop Apps From Tracking Your Location
By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Natasha Singer
Dec. 10, 2018
1
Your local Costco sells Google branded Mesh routers and WiFi access points in a bundled package. A WiFi Mesh system allows you to walk around your space (home or office) and get a solid WiFi connection without any User effort.
It also can send data to any source that probes for it, your location in the building. What room, what floor. Several years ago Google showed developers how to use it to display an engineer's location as he rode from home, on his bike, walked into the GooglePlex, and his route(s) through the building during the day. Using the accelerometer built into every smartphone, the tracking icon on Google Maps showed how the individual was moving: bike riding, walking, sitting.
Since I am a network engineer, and gadget geek, I have a mesh system in my house (not Google's) but I assign it to it's own (private) VLAN and use inter-VLAN routing with NAT to strip out certain information in the IP header. Now Google only knows I am home, but not where in my house. Or rather that I seem to spend all my time in the garage (where my VDSL internet modem sits).
10
"... and use inter-VLAN routing with NAT to strip out certain information in the IP header."
Could you be more specific about how you do that? Is that "stripping" a feature of the router or something you have custom configured because you are a technical expert?
1
The other day I went to set up a smart plug for my Christmas lights. First thing it wanted was to install an app. Second thing it wanted was to create an account. Third thing it wanted was me to grant the app access to my location data.
Location data... for app governing a plug in my wall. There is only one reason for that, and that reason is data mining.
I declined. And so, the app refused to pair the device.
This is where we are at. It's not even subtle anymore.
16
"... a smart plug for my Christmas lights."
Thanks for your anecdote. It will get worse ...
The "Amazon Smart Plug lets you voice control your lights, fans, coffee makers, and more. All you need is an Alexa-enabled device ..."
But you can only plug in one of those gadgets at a time, so in the future, all of those will be plugged into "smart" wall outlets which are on a "bus" similar to a USB bus.
4
What's a "smart plug"? What does that accomplish that a $10 mechanical timer does not?
Watch the new documentary "Do you trust this computer"
Apparently, neither we nor Apps writers have any idea what is going on?
The real disturbing part is big brothers are not in control either, they are scalping money but they are not in 100% of control.
2
Android user here, I allow some trackers. I'm retired so my travels are to a grocery store a friends house or other errands. I use an ad blocker so I don't receive ads on my phone and my laptop stays at home.
1
One time, while traveling, I stopped at a rest stop near Albany for 30 minutes or so. Back in the car, traveling away, I received a call from a number local to Albany. Initially I panicked thinking I left something at the rest stop. Turned out it was just someone soliciting a donation for a national police monument. They were calling me from Virginia and were quick to get off the phone when I started asking questions about how they got my number, etc. At the time I had Weatherbug location services enabled on my iPhone, among others. I have received calls from companies made to look local before. But it really seemed to me that this caller collected my location data within the previous 45 minutes and used it immediately to simulate a local call. It really disturbed me and I have turned off all location services from 3rd party apps and also opted out from AT&T sharing that data - which they try to discourage in case of emergencies. I suggest others with similar concerns do the same.
4
Always let unknown numbers go to voicemail.
A "local" call came in to my cell phone a couple of hours ago. Didn't recognize it, didn't pick up. Voicemail revealed (swear to god) some sing songy Chinese language recorded message. Delete.
Also, change your outgoing voicemail message to remove your name, cutesy messages, etc.
Just "This is 555-555-1234. Leave a message."
And, if you're a woman, have a man record the message to confuse creeps and stalkers.
that is why I don't even carry a cell phone.
6
The fact that companies have free reign to such sensitive individual information into our personal lives and the government has no say in how this data is used is a testament to how we erroneously let business run the show. It seems to me this data should be held by the government and accessed by tech companies through regulated government channels. It's only fair that the general public have control of it's personal data. One solution might be to require companies to submit gathered personal data to a government database and then make specific request for aspects of the data that can be monitored by the government.
2
Why is this a problem? People who want to keep their activities secret shouldn't download the apps. Many apps are often free because they allow the makers to sell the data the apps collect. Perhaps apps providers should offer clandestine apps for a price to users who do things they don't want other people to know about,
1
It's a problem because of the lack of disclosure, the lack of transparency, and the difficulty in preventing it, particularly on some platforms. Do you know what all the programs and apps on your devices and computers are doing? If so, you are definitely in the minority.
3
Congress is not focused on issues that matter and there is no better example of this than the ability of cell phone technology to invade the user's privacy. The fault does not lie with the technology. This technology will become more powerful, ubiquitous, and useful in the future providing services that most will find helpful. But there is a dark-side to this technology. We need laws that either limit the use of this data or that limit what data can be collected. Without legal protections, individual rights can be easily trampled on by nefarious use of this data by government or special interests to reveal our personal lives and behaviors.
Our Congress for a decades now has become notorious for doing the bidding of special interests in corporate America while often disregarding public interests, for example, healthcare costs or unskilled job losses due to automation. Congress has little interest in protecting privacy because no privacy lobby or public interest entity exists to pay for their campaigns and perks. There are lots of threats today to a liberal democracy, this is a big one.
1
Anyone concerned with privacy needs to not have a computer or a phone or a car or anything that is connected to the 'system'. It is going on decades now that anyone had what I would call a private life, but I do remember those days when life was a lot slower and everything was not for sale.
1
Where is the Pentagon? This sounds like a major fail in protecting our national security. Do you really want anyone in the world knowing where you are every second or even having the ability to find out? Congress needs to regulate these computer giants because they don't seem to understand how dangerous they are to national security.
5
It's time to make a lot of things our cell phone betrayers illegal on the federal level AND we need to enforce it to the fullest. No more measly fines that allows the bad guys to consider it just as a business license instead of a punishment. You want this to stop? First make all fines for big tech a hefty percentage of their gross earnings based on their highest earning within the last five years and add a mandatory 10 yr hard labor sentence as well then actually go out and prosecute a few then finally we will get them off our backs. As it stands it's outrageous that we even have to pay for cell phones or their continued shoddy service given the vast amounts of money they get from their betrayal model of selling everyone out to anyone anywhere.
6
Yes. It's an outrage, make it illegal, and make the violators do time.
2
I will never understand how for the sake of convenience, people allow themselves to to be converted into nothing more than marketing units. It is bad enough that people are willing tracked by their phones, it is beyond belief that any thinking person would invite a smart speaker into their homes to monitor their every sound and movement. Using this data for marketing is just one of the possible uses that this information can and will be used for.
13
Why continue to refer to these texts about data use as privacy policies? At least put it in quotes: "privacy policy" or "privacy" policy. These are not policies about privacy. They are policies, intentionally opaque, about how your data WILL be used WITHOUT your full knowledge or explicit consent. Continuing to call them privacy policies is at best naive, at worst complicit.
3
Well, yeah. These services are free for a reason. People can choose to not send this data.
This isn't news, unless, like that one ad agent said, you're really oblivious.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
If the product is free, it's because you're the product.
But I guess all the old people reading might be surprised, because why think about things until the news talks about it, right?
Folks thinking because it's technology and it's "the future" that money just makes itself.
I bet many readers are using Google Chrome for free right now, without thinking about why it's free.
2
NY TImes: Why is there not a single mention in this entire article of the EU's General Data Protection Rule which grants individual EU citizens specific privacy rights concerning the gathering of data from them and the storage and use of such data?
Your failure to provide a complete picture of the data rights issue in the light of the existence of the EU GDPR as an example of how regulation is already being undertaken in a set of major Western economies is puzzling if not troubling.
41
Great point. The EU provides a road map to better privacy protections. Readers need to understand that the U.S. lags behind and change is possible.
4
Hi, DD.
It's a valid criticism. There were many things we wanted to put in. (As reporters, we'd often wish for several hundred more words!)
It's true that people in the EU now have more privacy rights, and California recently enacted privacy legislation that will be interesting to watch.
This seems like a good opportunity to point out some of the great work Natasha Singer, one of the co-authors, has done on GDPR, including comparing data someone in the U.S. gets with that obtained by someone in the U.K.: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/20/technology/what-data-companies-have-on-you.html
4
This is a great response to a mildly-unfair criticism.
So if you carry a smart phone all day and have Alexa or other corporate eavesdropping device in your home, congratulations! You are officially living in the Panopticon, where you are tracked and monitored at all times from all sides.
14
Those who worry have good reason and are right to work at staying out of range. Thinking positively, it’s more thrilling to get lost these days because it’s so much harder to do.
A lot has been written about loneliness in America. Some probably feel less alone understanding their app can locate them. Perhaps those unconcerned about being “followed” perversely enjoy the virtual attention. It’s not like being hugged or loved, but it is recognition and maybe (keep your thumbs crossed) Mr. /Ms. Right will call, knowing you’re just a stone’s throw away.
2
I have always assumed that plenty of apps do this. It doesn't bother me, as long as these apps make my life easier.
2
So for a little convenience you willingly give up your basic human right to privacy? The price of a soul gets cheaper every day.
9
A great example of technology that needs to be regulated by the Federal government.
6
chuckle. Use as few apps as possible, turn off the phone when not needed, turn off location sharing, and deny location information whenever asked. As it is, I am often in locations in the woods or out in my boat on the lake where the location information would tell them little. Further, some locations the trees are so thick there is no GPS signal. Good luck to retailers unless they think they are going to sell me another chainsaw or depthfinder. My wife and I do use it at our very advanced ages to locate each other when either of us are out hunting or fishing for an accident or medical emergency.
4
The Times also collects information on its readers, as "The Conversation," with its "most read, shared and discussed posts" shows. Does The Times give its readers the option of opting-out of a system that allows The Times to know what is being read? In the "old days" of paper news (I also read The Times on paper) a person could read a newspaper without anyone else knowing what was being read. Advertisements in online journals such as Politico and The Daily Beast, also in The Times, often appear to resemble news stories; and to be sure, the producers of the ads want to know our habits. In the new age—a still ongoing revolution of electronic freedom—we've bartered away our privacy for the benefits of interconnectedness. Such a revolution in technology, as new as it still is, will take many years to understand. In the meantime, as has always been the case in human history, the bad actors will mix with the good. Staying informed is always beneficial. Requiring each and every website and app to notify you that you are being tracked, and to ask your permission to do so, and to allow opting out, might be one way to address the issue.
17
[[Does The Times give its readers the option of opting-out of a system that allows The Times to know what is being read?]]
Buy a subscription to support the Times. Don't log in using the subscription. Use the site anonymously. Clear your history and cookies as needed to keep using the site anonymously. Log on on your phone in private mode in Safari.
Beyond that, why wouldn't the Times want to know which articles are being read? It would be like a restaurant not knowing which meals are most popular. And, anyway, it's not just which articles but where readers came from, which link they clicked, etc.
And does the NYT sell this information?
Is there a list of these apps somewhere? It would be helpful for readers to know what they can do about this in terms of taking apps off their phones or disabling location tracking.
6
Seriously, don't leave us hanging! What can we do to protect ourselves? Which apps are the problem? The AppCensus website only covers android apps.
3
Pretty much any app you have granted location permission. Look in your phone's settings under Apps for a permissions section, if your OS provides that, to see which apps have access to location. You will find on a lot of apps, if you block location, they will immediately nag you to turn it back on, not operate at all or possibly crash.
3
"Which apps are the problem?"
Megan, the whole phone is the problem. Google and Apple are tracking you.
1
I cringed at 'Weight Watchers'....and 'dermatologist's office'. At 'spent night at ex-boyfriends's house', I found myself asking, "Was she visiting an ex-boyfriend, or did they break up in the time since this data was gathered and the New York Times telephoned for their story"?.
You see, that's the whole point. It was none of my business.
I think they call it---oh, what's the word---empathy.
16
"Businesses say their interest is in the patterns, not the identities, that the data reveals about consumers."
This could be true today, which it's not, but will certainly change tomorrow without consumer notification or consent. Businesses no longer have any ethics, morality or even concern for the consumer. They'll feed personal data to hitmen if the price is right. I bet it has already happened. Orwell's novel 1984 turns out was optimistic about the future. As Sarah Vowell suggested several years ago in a New York Times op-ed, we perpetually have a pessimism deficit.
36
One other point - check your location services frequently. It seems that when an app is upgraded, it may re-enable location services for the app. I've always been strict with allowing access to my location and monitor it at least once a month. Every time I check it, there's a handful of apps that have it turned on when I know it was turned off. This is for an iPhone but may apply to other phones, too.
34
Laura, what makes you think that those "location services settings" are being obeyed?
1
When you use a smartphone, even if it is a latest model with all protection, still, your privacy is at risk. As someone who have suffered hacking, thanks to timely detection, I can vouchsafe this fact. I have switched back to feature phones. Of course, I do use smart phones but I do not keep any personal memories in that. The apps that we use are all vulnerable and hackers are prowling all over the cyberspace. Even a small error by the user will prove to be costly.
We cannot blame the technology though. Smartphones are a dream. We can actually contain the whole world in our palm. The problem is, how to maintain our privacy and save ourselves from hackers?
5
I DO wonder if someone very powerful in the USA is tracked in this manner and it causes that person harm and that crime is documented in the public media, THEN the USA laws might change about phone location data. But the thing is -- very powerful people have handlers who deal with cell phone use. Sure, Zuckerberg has a cellphone but you can be sure he rarely uses it and you can also be sure location services are off and there's no additional apps installed on it.
NOTE: The article doesnt mention that apps can easily triangulate your general location from just having your cell phone on simply by using cell phone tower proximity. Your cell phone web browsers do this all the time when they suggest a zip code or nearby store to you, etc. This is nto new information and I am surprised the article doesnt mention it (unless I missed it).
3
I am a systems and network engineer with over 25 years of experience in the field. I've been involved in network and system security since the passage of HIPAA, which massively increased the IT security requirements of entities that store or process patient health data. In my younger days, I am sad to admit I dabbled in actual hacking.
Most of the time these days I spend doing security audits and what is referred to as system "hardening" - making sure that network and server systems are not vulnerable to attack from bad actors.
I love technology, and I understand it intimately.
I made the decision, over 10 years ago, when I first played with the first-gen iPhone in 2007, to never buy a smartphone. I saw the risks that they would represent as soon as I saw the device. Basically a full-fledged computer, with closed-source software, that you carry with you all of the time, is filled with third-party applications that have access to tons of the content generated by the device, including geosynchronous data from the GPS.
Have I given up some convenience? Sure. I have to plan in advance, take notes on paper, and occasionally print a map. I also have to carry several devices - a "dumb" GPS, a Kindle, and my "dumb" phone. I wish I could use encrypted messaging, but other than that I still stand by my decision. Smart phones are a scourge, beyond even their security issues. It's not healthy to be on the internet all the time. But the security and privacy issues are real.
46
If you recall. early consumer Cell phones had an option to completely turn off the GPS and of course at that point, there were no apps to install on them. In that scenario you are only traceable by the phone call you actually make (or if your telecomm gives up your cell info to authorities) . I suspect at some point -- if the privacy issues with current cell phone becomes a genuine safety issue -- companies will start selling these "simpler" types of phones to consumers.
4
@Ben
I'm a retired software engineer who worked at large telecoms for decades. I came to the same views you expressed in your comment. I took the exact same actions: flip-phone, dumb-GPS, and small notepad. My wife keeps keeps busting me to get a smartphone. That ain't going to happen!!!
13
Over reaction.
First disable access to GPS data for all apps. Then decide which ones you really need and look at their terms and conditions and decide if it's still worth it.
Not everyone spends their time gazing at their smartphone. Not having it with me would be silly for all the access to info, messages (encrypted - mostly), maps, etc.
In time, I expect that the availability of data for advertisers will legislated into narrow slots.
1
I wonder if the government used any of these services to bust Cohen, Manafort, Flynn, et al. If I were the Trump family, I would be very afraid.
8