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A comment on How Google tracks Android device users before they've even opened an app. Parent comment

Re:How Google tracks Android device users before they've eve... by GeekyBear on Tuesday March 04, 2025 @11:42AM (#43257042)
Even when you carry a dumb phone, your cellular carrier tracks your location via cell tower triangulation.

It's less accurate than GPS, but constant.

> The FCC said it found the carriers each sold access to its customers’ location information to ‘aggregators,’ who then resold access to the information to third-party location-based service providers.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/04/fcc-fines-major-u-s-wire...

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Re:How Google tracks Android device users before they've eve... by like_any_other on Tuesday March 04, 2025 @11:48AM (#43257128)
You don't leave a leak in a boat unplugged just because it's not the only one.
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Re:How Google tracks Android device users before they've eve... by knowitnone on Tuesday March 04, 2025 @01:59PM (#43258652)
Yes except they only have your location and that may not be acceptable to some. Google on the otherhand has much more than just your location - everything you look at, everything you buy, every email/text conversation
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Re:How Google tracks Android device users before they've eve... by GeekyBear on Tuesday March 04, 2025 @03:10PM (#43259348)
Your cellular carrier also has your identity and your billing address.

Companies that have chosen a surveillance capitalism business model have way more personal data, but they claim that they aren't selling that data to anyone willing to cut them a check the way that the carriers and app developers do.

However, data hordes stored by Google/Facebook/etc are still subject to warrants, so how much do you trust that warrants will not be abused?

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