Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder2.eternal-september.org!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: VanguardLH Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android,alt.internet.wireless Subject: Re: Was Google Location Accuracy (now is How to Spoof Wi-Fi Location) Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2024 11:10:46 -0500 Organization: Usenet Elder Lines: 52 Sender: V@nguard.LH Message-ID: References: <1gynl5ogj1mk6.dlg@v.nguard.lh> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: individual.net 4CEdDJcqTBzNXrgr0D4K7AyKhuaAJjHstRe0Q1jainRP4XFoYf Keywords: VanguardLH,VLH Cancel-Lock: sha1:L0oWlq7ZGZM39YfHIoS6XMX4S+4= sha256:u9abdPOHSc9IaOxvQ3vvI8tQXS7ma0uUQ7qRAUXlubs= User-Agent: 40tude_Dialog/2.0.15.41 Bytes: 3740 Andy Burns wrote: > VanguardLH wrote: > >> Unless Google is changing the high accuracy setting to enabled > > That is indeed what google did on 16/10/2024 (the day Android 15 was > released on Pixels). > > They enabled it, and left a notification on-screen that they had done > so, this wasn't only on my Pixel8a phone which got the upgrade, but also > my Huawei tablet (which hasn't been upgraded in years, thanks to the US > trade blacklist). That definitely sucks, and is rude. Close to malicious, or very insensitive. I've never been hit with malware, but this action seems like we need something to watch for changes by Google via Play Store services. Seems we need an Anti-Google PUA (Probably Unwanted Action) app that monitors the settings to either enforce them back to a recorded state saved in the monitor app, or to force a popup to prompt the user on every setting change, and not allow or revert the setting if the user responds No. That could be a ton of prompts for app, OS, and service updates making the user spend more time on prompts than in using their phone. Too much security interferes with usability. I suspect such an app wouldn't work unless running on a rooted phone which pretty much knocks out 99.9% of Android users. I doubt Apple is any better. There are a LOT of Android settings, in addition to those for the apps, so even with such an intervention prompt the user might not understand what a pending change is attempting to do. There are services, and even an Android app, and problem Windows/Linux programs to monitor web site to detect changes. Looks like we need a change detection app for Android itself. Would a de-Googled smartphone be any better regarding secured settings despite updates? That means no Play Store, and no Play Services. Not many users will root their phones. Even less with play with custom ROMs that can brick their phones. You read horror stories about the attempts, like: https://www.tomsguide.com/features/i-tried-de-googled-android-again-heres-how-that-went I haven't much dug into what all you get at https://de-googled.com/, because I'm not as paranoid about privacy as some others. I sometimes use cash, but not to prevent tracking where I've been, what I buy, and from whom when using credit/debit cards. I'm not trying to disappear off the grid. Somehow detecting I was at Starbucks using my phone seems no more a privacy invasion than everyone outside that that saw me enter there, everyone inside the store that saw me there, and any security cameras in the parking lot, and inside the store recording my presence either near or in the store.