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Quartz has found that Android phones have been tracking user locations and sending them to Google throughout 2017:
Even if you take all of those precautions, phones running Android software gather data about your location and send it back to Google when they're connected to the internet, a Quartz investigation has revealed.
Since the beginning of 2017, Android phones have been collecting the addresses of nearby cellular towers—even when location services are disabled—and sending that data back to Google. The result is that Google, the unit of Alphabet behind Android, has access to data about individuals' locations and their movements that go far beyond a reasonable consumer expectation of privacy. Quartz observed the data collection occur and contacted Google, which confirmed the practice.
The cell tower addresses have been included in information sent to the system Google uses to manage push notifications and messages on Android phones for the past 11 months, according to a Google spokesperson. They were never used or stored, the spokesperson said, and the company is now taking steps to end the practice after being contacted by Quartz. By the end of November, the company said, Android phones will no longer send cell-tower location data to Google, at least as part of this particular service, which consumers cannot disable.
"In January of this year, we began looking into using Cell ID codes as an additional signal to further improve the speed and performance of message delivery," the Google spokesperson said in an email. "However, we never incorporated Cell ID into our network sync system, so that data was immediately discarded, and we updated it to no longer request Cell ID."
Also at TechCrunch and Engadget.
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Wednesday November 22 2017, @07:56AM (2 children)
People who care about things like privacy and security probably shouldn't be using SystemD-based services anyway. The whole project philosophy is that convenience is king.
For someone who wants things to "just work", it may be a good choice. But when you go looking for "just work", expect part of that to be that it works against your interests. That is the case with pretty much everything in life, not just software.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday November 22 2017, @08:15AM (1 child)
Yeah, well if you want modern hardware your stuck with Linux. Specifically, Ubuntu. Believe me. Aside from Windows 10, it was my last choice. All the BSDs couldn't even install, let alone work adequately on a live CD. It turned out that Ubuntu was literally my only non-Microsoft option that would support my hardware.
I want to do shit, and that means I can't deal with 4 year old hardware or however long I have to go back till BSD adequately supports it. I've seen people with the modified IBM thinkpads, but they're just not strong enough for me. I enjoy my 4K, multi-monitor lifestyle to much to quit it ;)
Not loving having to deal with SystemD, but in all fairness to SystemD, it's but an inconvenience compared to the oppression of Windows 10.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Wednesday November 22 2017, @08:36AM
Nothing is forcing you to use SystemD on Linux! There are plenty of alternative init systems available, almost all of which have a design philosophy closer to "the unix philosophy" and most of which have far fewer bugs.
While projects like Gnome might "require" SystemD, there are plenty of usable desktop environments and programs which do not. I personally use XFCE; in the past I have used LXDE. The only thing you don't get, really, is eye candy menus. In exchange though, it is much faster, uses fewer resources, and allows you to run the init system of your choice.
But that is also a question of philosophy: do you want your window manager and desktop experience in general to be flashy? Or, do you want it to just provide basic menus and task switching functionality, but otherwise stay out of the way? Personally I desire the latter; I use my computer because I want to use programs such as browsers, file managers, terminals, IDEs, media players, etc, so I want those to be the focus. I do not use my computer because I want to use a desktop environment.
If you use your computer because you want to play with flashy menus, then yes you may be out of luck. :)