Tyler Dukes, WRAL, Raleigh, North Carolina, reporting on two unrelated murders:
In March 2017, months after investigations began into both shootings, separate detectives on each case, one day apart, employed an innovative strategy in criminal investigations.
On a satellite image, they drew shapes around the crime scenes, marking the coordinates on the map. Then they convinced a Wake County judge they had enough probable cause to order Google to hand over account identifiers on every single cell phone that crossed the digital cordon during certain times.
And on reactions from defense attorneys and privacy advocates:
They’re mixed on how law enforcement turns to Google’s massive cache of user data, especially without a clear target in mind. And they’re concerned about the potential to snag innocent users, many of whom might not know just how closely the company tracks their every move.
To get a sense of just how much location tracking Google does, check out this Quartz post from last November:
Many people realize that smartphones track their locations. But what if you actively turn off location services, haven’t used any apps, and haven’t even inserted a carrier SIM card?
Even if you take all of those precautions, phones running Android software gather data about your location and send it back to Google when they’re connected to the internet, a Quartz investigation has revealed.
According to this story, and others I’ve read, Google can track your location, even if you take out your SIM card. Amazing.
Read both of these stories. They are riveting and chilling.
“Google can track your location, even if you take out your SIM card.”
Sure, that’s what GPS is *for*.
If you don’t want the Borg to know where you are, turn your phone off. If you’re paranoid, take the battery out.
Read again. Even if you “turn your phone off”, as long as it has a power source, it’s tracking. Take the battery out, and it becomes an instant brick without any of your info including your phone number. Wonder if the cops will be looking at your record to see if it shows a “dark window” around the time of the crime? Not to mention seeing who got their phone reactivated the next day.
Of course that works both ways. “Check my phone location. It shows where I was all night.” Instant alibi.
i wonder how much capacitance is in the system after battery removal
“Even if you “turn your phone off”, as long as it has a power source, it’s tracking. ”
People have been *claiming* this for years. I’m not sure I believe it.
Isn’t this just what the Skyhook Wifi system does? (Which has been in iPhones too since at least the 3GS). It uses your wifi to check for wifi signals nearby and thru its database it knows roughly where you are. Even if the phone is off etc. That way when you do turn it on, it doesn’t burn thru half the battery trying to find a cell tower or GPS satellite, it already knows roughly where it should be looking and can connect in a second rather than 30 seconds.
What a great way to eliminate political opposition and suppress protests.
Me neither. But I’m not sure I disbelieve it, either. And if it isn’t true, does anyone doubt Google would like to make it true?
They can’t do it without the phone manufacturers’ help, though.
As we creep towards a police state, we rejoice at the “tools” Google, Facebook, and Amazon give us to “liberate” us f=rom the banal.
Fraction of a second, maybe. You can observe this with a regular computer: unplug it and hit the power button. The lights will flash and then go out.
Actually, with phones, as a cost-saving measure, and unlike laptops, they don’t have bypass circuitry (I’m not sure exactly what it’s called), meaning that phones don’t work at all without the battery plugged in, even if they’re plugged in to a charger.
Thanks Rick