An unnamed submitter writes:
Ever had a feeling that someone is watching you while you shop? That your every move is being recorded and analyzed? Your paranoia may be justified. Businesses are using intelligent software capable of tracking the location of each person's phone so closely it can determine exactly how long they spend looking at certain products on certain shelves. They are also using facial recognition to map users with profile. There are ways to combat this including disabling wifi and bluetooth, or putting your phone into airplane mode.
Businesses are using intelligent software capable of tracking the location of each person's phone so closely it can determine exactly how long they spend looking at certain products on certain shelves.
And it's not just snooping via wifi. Some stores are now using facial recognition technology too, which last week landed Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys in trouble with Choice.
"For any person trying to keep their personal information private, it's not fair. Every single person has a right to keep his or her privacy," Internet 2.0 security engineer Rafig Jabrayilov said.
[...] Stores, like Nordstrom in the United States – the focus of a bombshell New York Times article – can set up sensors in physical stores that return exact information on consumer behaviour.
Mr Jabrayilov said whether the technique was considered PII (personal identifyable information) under the privacy act was "arguable", given it only offered device information.
[...] He said big Australian retailers were also involved with tracking consumer devices through their camera faces, however he was not in a position to pass on outlet names.
[...] He recommended consumers check their phone settings to ensure their randomised MAC address function has been enabled.
Privacy is like virginity. Once it is gone, it impossible to get back.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Gaaark on Monday August 01 2022, @12:15AM (5 children)
Or don't have a cell-phone?
No cell-phoney, no tracky?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @12:28AM (1 child)
Yep, no phone and all of a sudden I'm invisible. Wouldn't that be nice.
Not--these stores still have security cameras.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Gaaark on Monday August 01 2022, @12:58AM
Not masking for covid?
I. am. invisible!
Muwahahahahahaha!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday August 02 2022, @09:00AM (2 children)
If you are not logged into the store's wifi, how do they know you are there? Don't they have to transmit their ssid, then I may or may not respond with a connect request?
Don't most people leave Bluetooth OFF unless they need it to save battery?
I can see someone using beamformers to zero on on cellphone packets to get accurate location on a phone, even if the packets themselves are secure.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 02 2022, @03:49PM (1 child)
I could be wrong, but I think if you have wifi enabled and are scanning for available networks, you are broadcasting your MAC in your packets, so they just log your MAC and keep it as your identifier for every time you come back (which is why the article mentioned that Android and Apple have now implemented MAC spoofing/rotation where they send out different MAC addresses so that when you come back tomorrow, you'll be broadcasting a different MAC).
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday August 02 2022, @11:30PM
Yeh, I am a bit unclear on the discovery protocols.
I figure it takes energy to advertise my availability, and I usually don't want to receive unsolicited connection, however the access point is usually line powered and "wants" connections so it's always broadcasting it's presence.
If my phone were to spew it's presence, looks like finding a lost phone would be trivial. Like finding a lost kitten that keeps mewing.
Just suppositions. For every thing I believe, there are probably thousands of things I am ignorant of.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by jimbrooking on Monday August 01 2022, @12:22AM (6 children)
Could putting your phone in Airplane Mode before entering any large shopping venue thwart this invasion?
the f-ing marketeers are as bad as virus and malware writers.
I wonder if this would be tolerated in the EU?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 01 2022, @01:44AM
Airplane mode? You gotta be kidding! Then I couldn't phone home to make sure I'm getting the *exact* item that Honey wants! Worse, I might miss Honey's call reporting that Fido finally pooped in the yard instead of my slipper!
I remember how strange it was to listen in on personal conversations in stores. Today, I'm the strange one, because I don't participate in that arcane jabberwocky nonsense.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by inertnet on Monday August 01 2022, @07:03AM (4 children)
You only need to switch off Wifi while not at home or work, based on GPS. Which shouldn't be too difficult for an app, just for this purpose. It will save battery as well.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday August 01 2022, @07:25AM (3 children)
Do you know of any full apps that do this? There was something years ago called Cell Near that you could use with Tasker but it was rather hit-and-miss and a bit of a pain to set up, and stopped working at some point.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday August 01 2022, @08:02AM (2 children)
Replying to my own question, WiFi Automatic [google.com] would seem to do the job. There are several other apps with the same name but this one has the highest rating based on > 1M downloads.
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Monday August 01 2022, @08:32AM (1 child)
I found WiFi Manager [f-droid.org] on F-Droid, it seems to be built for this purpose. Haven't tried it yet.
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Monday August 01 2022, @09:36PM
I tried it and it doesn't work correctly. My home WiFi network has 2 speeds, so it has 2 MAC addresses. The app links a cell tower ID to one of them, but not the other. So it kept shutting off WiFi on my phone. Too bad because the idea is good.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @12:26AM (1 child)
A college friend worked on software that tracked people around the store using video, perhaps 20 years ago. It wasn't as invasive in terms of privacy (didn't ID each shopper), but it generated all the same metrics in terms of how long people spent at different displays, etc. Since it piggybacked off the security cameras that were already in the store, it was a no-brainier purchase for big chain stores.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @09:52PM
There is a UK based company doing this now
(Score: 4, Interesting) by legont on Monday August 01 2022, @02:22AM
If you are without a detectable phone and covered with a mask good enough to deter recognition, the shop software shall assume it's an active shooter situation and call swat team immediately.
If one really wants to keep his privacy, the only solution is another identity. Yes - face, phone, car - all have to match.
I am pushing this idea for at least two decades now, but so far no mainstream commercial offer. I want a place where I set up my desired personality - say middle aged conservative heterosexual; very reliable IT worker - and it will do everything namely post for me on politically correct forums, visit approved online shopping places and so on. I want my HR to get this perfect picture.
This is so easy to do as the business could just hire one idiot for each personality and be done with it. Meantime I could enjoy my books.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Monday August 01 2022, @03:25AM (2 children)
Who knew it would be corporate entities vs governments that watches your every move?
And that we would hand such privacy over freely?
Never saw that coming.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday August 01 2022, @08:22AM (1 child)
Orwell predicted everything correctly, apart from one thing: he thought the surveillance and the tyranny would come from the state, but it came from the private sector.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday August 01 2022, @02:02PM
Only if we ignore that a good portion of this surveillance is mandated and/or funded by the state: such as tracking and reporting all financial transactions over a modest threshold, requiring online sites to deal with hate/terrorist speech, cell phone-based espionage/information hoovering, or the various states that obsess over tracking/identifying people via video.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by stretch611 on Monday August 01 2022, @04:12AM
Has anyone else noticed yet... Both the Lifehacker and NYT article are dated... 9 Years ago in July 2013.
Since those original articles 9 years ago, things are arguably even worse...
* - Cellphones are even more common
* - Marketers are even more invasive
* - data brokers have a lot more ways to track you (especially when it comes to combining your real address, workplace, PC, cellphone and any other work/personal device you touch in a day together.)
* - social media which is one of the worse things privacy-wise has had astronomical growth in this time
Congress doesn't give a damn about your privacy, at least they didn't before the Substandard Court deleted Rowe V Wade. Now they only care to deny the other side any victory.
Hell, even fast food chains want you to give up your privacy by offering you a digital coupon to get free fries so they can track you with their app. (and likely millions do so)
Other a few tech geeks, like those that read this site even seem to notice... Or this would have been dealt with years ago.
Sadly even for those of us trying to keep it... just one slip and we're screwed.
I am definitely not saying to give up, but is there anyone even among the readers here that think that corporate america (or whatever part of the world you are in) doesn't already have more data about you than you want them to have?
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Angelica on Monday August 01 2022, @07:34AM
None of these systems is as detailed or sensitive as that of janrinok, sussing out the illegal AC posters.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday August 01 2022, @08:09AM (1 child)
From TFA:
And that makes it alright?
Online tracking is something I'd like to see a lot of high-level Big Data execs get life in jail for - but not before I have a go at spitting in their faces first.
(Score: 1) by wArlOrd on Monday August 01 2022, @05:26PM
I'd like to join in the spitting but I hate standing in *long* lines!
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday August 01 2022, @06:30PM
Why? There are cameras everywhere, you can leave your phone at home and still be stalked.
Why is it illegal for me to stalk you, but legal for Walmart and Google?
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday August 01 2022, @09:57PM
Yes, but once it tracks you through the store, then to a register, if you pay with a card it could easily tie your tracked device and all the data it used that device to collect, to you as a person. Tie that in with other data and add it to your profile and sell it on. You walk in, shop for some jock itch medicine, but don't actually buy any. You get some chips, check out with a CC. Next thing you know the store is sending you coupons for jock itch meds, and you are getting online ads for them too from the ad companies the store sold the data to.