[HN Gopher] iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut locat...
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       iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow
       to ad industry
        
       Author : clairity
       Score  : 52 points
       Date   : 2020-01-13 20:16 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (appleinsider.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (appleinsider.com)
        
       | mikestew wrote:
       | And it's not just location data. I am amazed at how many apps
       | want Bluetooth, too. Umm, there isn't a single listed feature
       | that indicates a need for BT, why are you asking? Oh, so you can
       | use that as a tracking vector, too. Well, not only do you not get
       | BT, you don't get to live on my phone anymore, either.
       | 
       | As for the advertisers, boo-hoo. You raised a finger (or two,
       | depending on locale) to "do not track", you think there wasn't a
       | hammer that was going to fall after you were asked politely?
        
       | novok wrote:
       | The alert is annoying although for apps you want to have always
       | on location tracking although, like some life logging apps. (Arc,
       | etc)
       | 
       | It's like OS doesn't want to accept there are apps you want
       | always on location tracking on and for it to stop annoying you
       | about it.
        
         | duskwuff wrote:
         | Yeah, I'm a little annoyed that there isn't an option for "no
         | really, always allow". I understand that there's good privacy
         | reasons to keep asking -- but I'm quite aware that a weather
         | app will need access to my location, and I'm okay with that.
        
       | hinkley wrote:
       | The thing is... we still do adaptations of Shakespeare, because
       | human behavior hasn't changed all that profoundly in 600 years.
       | 
       | By the time we actually have privacy again, there will be enough
       | information out there to mine about how people reacted five, ten
       | years ago for the old data to continue to retain value. It'll
       | just be repackaged and re-interpreted over and over again.
       | 
       | The coffee shop may no longer know that you also like kayaks, or
       | bulldogs, but they might not need information like that to peg
       | your preferences based on what stereotypes you fit with the
       | information they do have.
        
       | Despegar wrote:
       | ITP and these location changes are all great, but Apple can do
       | more for privacy with their policy team and lobbyists than with
       | their software engineers. Getting Congress and state legislatures
       | to pass privacy laws (that look like GDPR, not CCPA) is a
       | scalable solution that covers the situations Apple can't control
       | with technical design. Like when a legitimate weather app that
       | gets your consent for location but then also shares that data
       | with a third party SDK that sells it to a hedge fund.
        
       | dpkonofa wrote:
       | My favorite thing about these features is the number of apps that
       | it's reminded me to uninstall completely from my devices. The
       | number of apps that I initially installed months ago that didn't
       | have any of this that suddenly developed tracking notifications
       | is staggering. I never would have known either since the updates
       | happen silently in the background.
       | 
       | Great features.
        
       | mesozoic wrote:
       | Great step in the right direction.
        
       | lalos wrote:
       | Next step is to download Lockdown, open source and on device
       | firewall. It also offers a VPN with an in-app purchase (kinda
       | confusing when you are setting it up), but for free you get the
       | firewall only. Easy to enable and block known ad-trackers
       | (including FB sdk and Google Ads). Highly recommend. It's also
       | made by ex Apple engineers, in case that helps for building
       | trustworthiness.
       | 
       | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lockdown-apps/id1469783711
       | 
       | https://github.com/confirmedcode/lockdown-ios
        
         | cremp wrote:
         | Maybe I'm just skeptical and a cynic, but...
         | 
         | > VPN with an in-app purchase
         | 
         | Lets pay for a product, and they have the ability to sell that
         | data.
         | 
         | I get, acting like a pi-hole and what-not but, a VPN for that
         | task seems overkill.
        
           | Karupan wrote:
           | > a VPN for that task seems overkill
           | 
           | I think that's the only way to perform certain tasks on iOS.
        
           | tehlike wrote:
           | Vpn is the ux reason. It is the only way to have a way to
           | inspect network traffic on android without rooting. And
           | likely on ios.
           | 
           | Disclaimer: never used lockdown, not endorsing the product.
        
           | Cynddl wrote:
           | iOS requires a VPN profile (even a local VPN) for ruled-based
           | adblocking. This is what AdGuard Pro [0] does for adblocking.
           | 
           | This does not mean that your data goes through a VPN server.
           | 
           | [0] https://adguard.com/en/adguard-ios-pro/overview.html
        
         | uyuioi wrote:
         | Just downloaded this to see. It has a log which within a minute
         | blocked 6 ad networks. Great.
        
         | scarface74 wrote:
         | So if I care about privacy, why in the heck would I trust yet
         | another party with access to all of my internet communication?
        
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       (page generated 2020-01-13 23:00 UTC)