University Study Proves Without A Doubt That Your Phone Is Spying On You

Well, we have had threads and most of us have known for awhile that our phones listen to us and target us with adds. I have experienced this myself by mentioning a specific brand of something I have not bought in years or even looked at on the internet in a conversation where my phone was present and see adds for that the next day.

This goes much deeper....

gizmodo.com...

It’s the smartphone conspiracy theory that just won’t go away: Many, many people are convinced that their phones are listening to their conversations to target them with ads. Vice recently fueled the paranoia with an article that declared “Your phone is listening and it’s not paranoia,” a conclusion the author reached based on a 5-day experiment where he talked about “going back to uni” and “needing cheap shirts” in front of his phone and then saw ads for shirts and university classes on Facebook.

Instead, they discovered a different disturbing practice: apps recording a phone’s screen and sending that information out to third parties.

Of the 17,260 apps the researchers looked at, over 9,000 had permission to access the camera and microphone and thus the potential to overhear the phone’s owner talking about their need for cat litter or about how much they love a certain brand of gelato. Using 10 Android phones, the researchers used an automated program to interact with each of those apps and then analyzed the traffic generated. (A limitation of the study is that the automated phone users couldn’t do things humans could, like creating usernames and passwords to sign into an account on an app.) They were looking specifically for any media files that were sent, particularly when they were sent to an unexpected party.

www.blacklistednews.com...

The fact that these apps can record your screen without you knowing and use this data is chilling. It illustrates how easy it would be for a malicious actor to be able to look at your private messages, personal information, passwords, photos, and videos. None of this is stopped by your phone’s security either as it is a function built into the apps and you don’t have an option to disallow it.

“Our study reveals several alarming privacy risks in the Android app ecosystem, including apps that over-provision their media permissions and apps that share image and video data with other parties in unexpected ways, without user knowledge or consent. We also identify a previously unreported privacy risk that arises from third party libraries that record and upload screenshots and videos of the screen without informing the user. This can occur without needing any permissions from the user.”

In the age of technology, privacy and security are the only things that separate us from a total surveillance grid. Unfortunately, as this study illustrates, we have very little of both.

a reply to: infolurker

Brave New World.

Hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube. I have no clue what would fix this.

a reply to: infolurker

Permission management on newer versions of android is pretty good. I always immediately disable all non essential permissions for all apps until it requests it. That way I can allow it for whatever I may actually need it for and turn it off again afterwards. Seriously you get what you pay for...if you fill your phone with all the latest and greatest ad supported free apps expect it to spy on you. Remember it it's free you are the product . But there are still steps you can take to protect yourself and there's plenty of alternatives available for people willing to put in the effort.

F-droid is an open source repository where you can find replacements for pretty much any of the functionality on an android phone. All the apps on there are open source and explain why each permission is needed. You can disable most google services and have your phone run just fine. The only google service enabled on my phone is google play and gmail. If you're willing to put more effort in phones can be rooted and flashed with custom ROMs. There's also work being done on open source phones both hardware and software.

If you really are against practices like these researchers found supporting open source software and hardware is the best way to help bring some kind of choice other than the bull# we currently get offered. Either by using it, or if you have any kind of skills, contributing back to a project you find useful whether it's by coding or even helping with documentation or even just giving feedback. Every little takes a small amount of power from these invasive technogiants. The only way to stop it is to choose something different. It may be more effort but in the end you're trading that effort for privacy, security and a device you carry with you constantly you can actually trust. Not something where you're trading privacy for convenience.

www.linuxinsider.com...

itsfoss.com...

puri.sm...

That and educating yourself about how to manage your phone properly and allow only what you want to be sent out.

a reply to: infolurker

You already read this goody right?

www.wired.com...

Throw your phone in the pond,
and live a little more.

S&F

originally posted by: Wildmanimal
a reply to: infolurker

You already read this goody right?

www.wired.com...

Throw your phone in the pond,
and live a little more.

S&F

I've saved some time, money and anxiety by never purchasing a cell phone. I just can't get used to the idea of an electronic leash.

Not my phone.
I guarantee it. It just stays in my car and is only turned on when I'm driving. No webby connecty.
(He said, smugly.)

A couple of years ago I told a friend I wanted to buy a hot tub in a text message. I hadn't googled or looked into it in any way other than that singular mention. I soon started seeing ads for hot tubs on both my phone and computer.

It was creepy.

I haven't owned a cellphone for nearly 3 years now. It's awesome.

Try it... it's quite liberating...

a reply to: madmac5150

Trouble is, it's hard to find a phone booth anymore.

a reply to: Phage

Nice.

If I had a choice (and payed for a phone) I would get a basic unit myself.

Unfortunately, I have to carry a company issued phone and they are all androids now.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: madmac5150

Trouble is, it's hard to find a phone booth anymore.

I hear Superman has resorted to changing inside of abandoned Redbox machines.

He tried changing at the YMCA, but he didn't identify with any of the 6 gender specific restroom facilities.

It's a sad day for our heroes....

a reply to: madmac5150

Was it the first movie where Superman eyes one of those shorty phone booths, disapprovingly?
Good sight gag.

originally posted by: loam
a reply to: infolurker

Brave New World.

Hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube. I have no clue what would fix this.

For those who cannot watch, Snowden physically demonstrates how to disconnect both cameras and the microphone from the circuitboard of an iPhone. You will void your warranty, but that's a small price to pay for the piece of mind knowing that your phone can't see or hear you.

I was in Silicon Valley last month and was perplexed by the amount of people using old school flip phones. These weren't just ordinary citizens, most of these people work in big tech for either Apple, Google, FB, Twitter, Yahoo, etc. But it didn't take long, only about ten seconds, for me to figure out what specific purpose those old flippys served...

a reply to: ColdWisdom

But if you do that you can't ask Siri.
Or take selfies.

Then what do you have? A phone?

Yep , I still use the old school Start Trek communicator style
Folks look at me weird when I tell em what I want.
They just dont know the personal equipment I have at home.
Much less what I have access to for work
So , I forgive their ignorance...
And grin a big old sheepish grin

When I go to the grocery store... the list is the list. There are no late additions to the list. I cannot be reached...

When I run errands, there are no "Oh, by the way" requests. If it isn't on my list when I leave the house, it won't happen.

When I take a drive to clear my mind.... I get zero interruptions.

I am sure that some will ask, "What will you do in case of an emergency?" The "911" feature of "On-star" will always work, even without a subscription.

My bases are covered, and my stress levels have bottomed out.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

And they might be sending your nude photos:

Start at :45

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: madmac5150

Trouble is, it's hard to find a phone booth anymore.

So where do you change into your Superman costume these days Clark?

a reply to: pianopraze

Heavens to Betsy!

originally posted by: Illumimasontruth

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: madmac5150

Trouble is, it's hard to find a phone booth anymore.

So where do you change into your Superman costume these days Clark?

The Wal-Mart changing rooms.

The door greeters all swear that I am George Reeves... (and a few even met the guy... in person...)