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A comment on FBI agents track cell phones that pinged near the Capitol. Parent comment

Re:FBI agents track cell phones that pinged near the Capitol by schoolornot on Saturday January 23, 2021 @11:49AM (#25883766)
AT&T is still installing Carrier IQ on almost all Androids. That application is collecting info like GPS and barometric readings to estimate floor location in a highrise, etc.
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Re:FBI agents track cell phones that pinged near the Capitol by pdoege on Saturday January 23, 2021 @02:05PM (#25885114)
Absolutely. In addition all carriers use multi-lateration and sectorization to fine tune location. The better the location the more valuable it is for commercial resale and CALEA sales.

Notice that all of this is entirely legal, above board, and you agreed to it as part of your service agreement.

Source: I worked for AT&T and Carrier IQ

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Re:FBI agents track cell phones that pinged near the Capitol by WarOnPrivacy on Saturday January 23, 2021 @04:49PM (#25886470)
> you agreed to it as part of your service agreement

"Agree" implies willful consent and being in harmony with the implied outcome.

People accept because they have no meaningfully acceptable choice - which is the exact target that carriers aim for.

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Re:FBI agents track cell phones that pinged near the Capitol by hocuspocus on Saturday January 23, 2021 @05:54PM (#25886901)
They don't even need Carrier IQ, they can use Minimization of Drive Tests, it's part of 3GPP standards.

But even using timing advances, if the cells aren't too big, you get a pretty reasonable accuracy.

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