I know this topics comes up ever so often here, but this is really amazing demo. A reminder that on Android you can use tools like XPL-EX (previously XprivacyLua) to heavily block such calls and libraries, or something simpler even like something like [App Manager](https://muntashirakon.github.io/AppManager/).
ebfe1 9 hours ago [-]
Not exactly related but on the topic of finding target's location, A few years ago i used to run a little demo of capturing probe wifi ssid network on prefered network list of nearby devices and used https://wigle.net/ to identify places that people has visited... it was eye opening for some people in the audience for sure.
az09mugen 59 minutes ago [-]
Wow, the map gives a good insight of where "technological humans" are concentrated.
0x008 4 hours ago [-]
We all kind of know this is true, but it’s always really eyeopening to see to what extent these companies know everything about us.
Even worse is, I think, that somehow they are allowed to sell all the data and that you can basically buy data about everybody easily online[1]
Edit: just want to mention that the OPs flow is definitely better for capturing real data and endpoints, but I didn't see how I could automate it?
lrvick 1 hours ago [-]
You actually can opt out of this. Personally I have not had a cell phone subscription in ~5 years and only use cash IRL.
stavros 52 minutes ago [-]
You can actually opt out of this. Vote for politicians that want to regulate this into illegality.
timsh 3 days ago [-]
author here to answer any questions or discuss an app
jrmg 7 hours ago [-]
On the question of “why do they collect all this data” - brightness, battery life, headphone usage, volume etc: It’s not just because the data is valuable in itself, it’s also to ‘fingerprint’ the device across IPFA boundaries and in the face of things like NAT and VPNs. There are so many disparate data points that are different across different devices that two apps reporting an identical or near-identical set in a short timeframe are likely on the same device.
elric 4 hours ago [-]
How the hell is any of this tracking legal?
lrvick 56 minutes ago [-]
Because you and almost everyone else agreed to the Terms of Service where you consented to let them stalk you until they can make an accurate enough simulation of you to sell increased chances to change your behavior to the highest bidder.
You can stop at any time. Cancel your cell phone subscription and turn off your phone. It is a perfectly valid choice.
elric 46 minutes ago [-]
Uninformed consent is not consent. And while you may enjoy your life without a mobile subscription, many would not.
boppo1 52 minutes ago [-]
No one took Stallman seriously in the early '00s cuz he looks like a total nerd.
26 minutes ago [-]
anotherpaul 3 hours ago [-]
I haven't gone through setting it up (yet) but I imagine there should be differences between EU and US versions of the apps. Is that something you expect to and if so, are you recording that info in your survey?
Or am I just naive here?
uticus 3 days ago [-]
solid observations and good analysis! so, seems too obvious, are you truly in pioneer territory - nobody else is doing what you've done here?
timsh 3 days ago [-]
I mean, there should be something! Maybe not with this exact list of apps, but the code should be similar to other "how-to-record-traffic" guides.
feydaykyn 1 days ago [-]
Many thanks for your eyes opening article!
Hopefully you have a third article on the making testing whether common privacy technics are effective ?
8 hours ago [-]
alphan0n 5 hours ago [-]
Good stuff. You might find more interesting data by implementing Frida [0] into your process to snoop on encrypted traffic normally not visible due to pinned certificates.
Even worse is, I think, that somehow they are allowed to sell all the data and that you can basically buy data about everybody easily online[1]
[1]: https://media.ccc.de/v/38c3-databroker-files-wie-uns-apps-un...
https://appgoblin.info which let's you see trackers installed on mobile apps and an Android app that lets you see those on your phone.
I'm working on automating a flow similar to the OPs but with an emulator so it can run on a server, but it's pretty difficult.
If anyone has advice I'd love to hear it. My biggest problem is how finnicky getting the rooted emulator plus apps is.
My current flow for mitm and waydroid is here: https://github.com/ddxv/mobile-network-traffic
Hope anyone has some advice!
Edit: just want to mention that the OPs flow is definitely better for capturing real data and endpoints, but I didn't see how I could automate it?
You can stop at any time. Cancel your cell phone subscription and turn off your phone. It is a perfectly valid choice.
Hopefully you have a third article on the making testing whether common privacy technics are effective ?
[0] https://frida.re/docs/home/
https://github.com/httptoolkit/frida-interception-and-unpinn...