Give permission. Don't give permission. They know where you are anyway

[cyborganism@lemmy.ca]

Use a VPN. Problem solved.

[masterofn001@lemmy.ca]

Make sure you disable or properly configure webrtc. Even with a VPN it will leak your true IP address.

Check here.

https://browserleaks.com/webrtc

[sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml]

We just have to stop using the internet at this point

[lurch@sh.itjust.works]

This problem solved, but whenever you change your network or IP and then periodically, your phone will report to Firebase, so you can receive push notifications.

You can block those with software that simulates a local VPN with a filter, but you won't get any more push notifications. Now push notifications are not just the ones you see. Some apps use invisible ones to get infos they need to work.

[scrollone@feddit.it]

Using a VPN just moves the trust to another middleman.

[ricdeh@lemmy.world]

That VPN provider will then know ALL the connections you make. Almost worse than just using the Internet normally.

[forrgott@lemm.ee]

Not the magic bullet people think they are. Oh, and you can't turn it off, so you'll have to take the loss in network speed on absolutely everything. And better know how to configure each device so it doesn't go ahead and check leak your IP anyways, which also restricts choice of devices you use. Cause remember, if any device on your network ever connects to the net without the VPN, then your anonymity just went out the window.

[1984@lemmy.today]

You can set up wireguard vpn on a tiny instance in Amazon or Google, and bounce traffic through that one. Then you control what gets logged (Amazon may have logs over all outgoing connections from all instances somewhere though).

[mrkawfee@lemmy.world]

Is there any straightforward way of stopping this besides dropping off the grid?

[jimmy90@lemmy.world]

it's been known for a long time that there is enough identifiable information in a "normal" person's internet usage to identify exactly who and where you are and what you are likely doing just from metadata analysis and public domain information

question is, how is this being abused

[muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee]

Route all or traffic through tor. Never log into anything. Never use the same identity twice. Ahh and live in a hut in the woods never going to shops or cities that have security cameras.

[monkdervierte@lemmy.ml]

...where are chains allowed to abuse security camera footage for ad tracking?

[hendrik@palaver.p3x.de]

I think it's more: "Don't use a smartphone". It'll send those requests through any internet connection. No matter if it's a VPN.

[misk@sopuli.xyz]

Does this happen to users in the EU? It’s highly illegal to gather data without consent here obviously. Even processing other data to derive location means processing data for purpose that’s different from one that was consented to (if they tried to get consent at all). There are big companies implicated here so it’d be easy to fine them into submission in jurisdictions that allow it.

[plenipotentprotogod@lemmy.world]

The sample data shared in the article includes

"c": "ES", // Country code,

ES is usually used for Spain, so it looks like these tests were run from within the EU.

[muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee]

I forgot I'm in a minority of people running a properly secure degoogled ROM.

[muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee]

Bunnings in Australia until very recently and u have basically 0 protections in the states.

[hendrik@palaver.p3x.de]

Same, same. But the occasional app refusing to work due to missing Play services and all the hoops I have to jump through, kind of remind me of that regularly.

[misk@sopuli.xyz]

Ah, there’s also this in json:

"uc": "1", // User consent for tracking = True; OK what ?!

My guess is that developers are pretending to got user consent to get more money from the ads.

[briantheebiscuiteer@lemmy.world]

I imagine an ad blocker could prevent this data going out, unless the hosts were generic and the game/app simply won't work without allowing those connections. I've never seen an app be [obviously] broken from my ad blocker but I am interested in running a similar experiment to see just how much data is going out.