QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow

Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by Meph504 on Monday July 26, 2021 @08:06AM (#27958416)

Honestly, this isn't really that effective a tracking system, retailers already use beacons that can track every phone that comes into an area, due to the nature of of the way mobile devices look for wifi signal, and in some extreme cases cell towers, a phones in a retail space can be tracked easily, and without consent, knowledge, or interaction of the consumer. These devices can also restrict the range of their signal, and multiple can be used in a location, to track what parts of the stores you are in, and be used at a register location to associate mobile devices to transactions.

This has been happening for years, and is used widely across the industry, more than a decade ago I worked with one of these systems to be able to associate face from a camera system with this system to add a facial identify to the data.

QR codes are seriously nothing compared to that, and the user has to actively interact with them.

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Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by HWR_14 on Monday July 26, 2021 @09:26AM (#27959062)

> due to the nature of of the way mobile devices look for wifi signal

Don't phone's listen only for SSID beacons? Why would they be transmitting at that time?

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Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by Meph504 on Monday July 26, 2021 @10:49AM (#27960073)

https://www.pointr.tech/blog/wifi-or-beacons-for-indoor-loca... this will likely provide a lot more details about how beacon frames are used for location tracking.

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Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by HWR_14 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @02:48PM (#27976023)

This doesn't seem to have have any technical [edited: implementation details]. It does imply that iOS cycles MAC addresses fairly often to mitigate wifi tracking.

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Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by Meph504 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @02:53PM (#27976096)

I'm not sure what you are referring to about technical difficulties?

And yes iOS has tightened their controls on how their phones can be tracked. Most of these systems right upgrade or new piece of equipment that switches the tracking from wifi to Bluetooth or a combination of both

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Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by HWR_14 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @04:43PM (#27977372)

Sorry, I meant to right technical details [about the implementation]. Somehow I typed the wrong word.

I know that Bluetooth beacons are a thing, but presumably leaving your phone out of discovery mode and not having any active Bluetooth pairings mitigates that, right?

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Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by Meph504 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @04:51PM (#27977464)

No worries, I do that all the time myself.

As far as the bluetooth side it, I don't have personal experience with them other knowing that they were added to systems I've worked on after the fact.

So your statement sounds logically, I just can't confirm it.

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Re:QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow by HWR_14 on Monday July 26, 2021 @03:04PM (#27963801)

Thank you!

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