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A comment on iPhone apps share data with trackers, ad companies and research firms. Parent comment

Re:iPhone apps share data with trackers, ad companies and re... by _bxg1 on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @10:20PM (#20036346)
Yep. Still less of a blank check than Android though; it doesn't even distinguish background location from foreground location, last I checked.
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Re:iPhone apps share data with trackers, ad companies and re... by Niten on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @12:20AM (#20036830)
Yeah that's a limitation of Android at present, but check out what's coming in Android Q: https://developer.android.com/preview/privacy/device-locatio...
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Re:iPhone apps share data with trackers, ad companies and re... by vbezhenar on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @03:11AM (#20037530)
Android is weird! I have to ask for that location permission if I want to connect to Bluetooth printer!
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Re:iPhone apps share data with trackers, ad companies and re... by jon-wood on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:42AM (#20039409)
It kind of makes sense, in that it’s possible to use data on what radios you can see (particularly WiFi SSIDs) to work out a user’s location. Still causes no end of hassle from customers complaining about you requesting location permissions to connect to a WiFi device though.
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Re:iPhone apps share data with trackers, ad companies and re... by svendbt on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:39AM (#20039989)
I suspect they do this to be able to configure Bluetooth within regional regulations. In US / China you can transmit with up to 20dBm output power at 2.4 GHz, while in much of the world 10 dBm is max.
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Re:iPhone apps share data with trackers, ad companies and re... by blep-arsh on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @10:59AM (#20040956)
The location permission is not needed to use Bluetooth on Android, but apps must request it to be able to scan for nearby access points and beacons (both for wifi and for BT), since this information can be used to infer the device's location. Fun fact: turning off location services without revoking the location permission still allows apps to scan for wifi access points and infer your location with impressive precision. The list of apps that have the scanning permission is hidden somwhere deep in system settings.
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