this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2026
308 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

85297 readers
3754 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Hueristic_Autistic@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Go into developer mode on your android and you can toggle see hidden Bluetooth devices. Anyone can see all the by devices around them same with wifi. Jamming them is a federal offence; Logging them and Scanning them isn't.

Anyone can make a jammer or buy one off of aliexpress at your own expense, I stay away from them even though I've been tempted to build one. Alas, I'd rather read about people who do, than be the one who did.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

How does this not violate the 4th amendment?

[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Publicly accessable information in a public space isn't beholden to it.

Functionally this is no different then someone sitting in a park counting how many people are wearing a blue shirt or Nike shoes.

The problem is people don't realize how much fucking information they are just publicly broadcasting all the fucking time.

It makes you extremely identifable. Really this is more a why the fuck do devices screech into the air so much fucking information.

[–] tb_@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Functionally this is no different then someone sitting in a park counting how many people are wearing a blue shirt or Nike shoes.

That isn't the same level of identifiable as a unique device ID/MAC/whatever though. And even if my devices weren't the issue, I wouldn't feel comfortable having an automated system logging my clothes/gait/face just because I'm out in public. Fully automated surveillance such as this ought to be it's own category.

Also I don't think you are trying to argue that it is right.

[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago

I'm not trying to argue that it's right. More just trying to point out the fundamental flaw in getting pissed at something that's already a problem.

Just getting upset at this one thing because it's new and having your attention drawn to it is pointless. Trying to stop it is even more pointless. It also shows that the person getting upset doesn't actually understand the real problem here and is functionally just falling for the fear mongering of the headline in a sense.

You need to actually go after the underlying problem that even allows this to happen in the first place. And yeah my example was far more simplistic compared to digital logging. But it was ment to be a quick simple example.

I just get tired of people not paying attention to the problems around them till some new thing pops up that gets head lines. If that makes sense?

I don't find the argument that everyone should have a perfect expectation of privacy in public locations. It just doesn't make logistical sense. Shared spaces just fundamentally are going to require everyone to agree to some level of privacy loss for the sake of usability of the space.

But the right to be anonymous in public should also be a thing. So while someone expecting to not be recorded and documented is a bit silly. That documentation and recording should be of the sort that's not able to profile and harass.

For example, if you get caught up in a photo or recording someone making at a park. Your sharing the space and that's just the compromise. But someone taking a picture of every single person for the singular purpose of tracking every person that goes though is fucked up.

Kinda just a this is why we can't have nice things sorta problem. Cause I can also see the need to have some level of monitoring for security purposes. But anything more then a basic cctv setup always feels extremely over kill.

A dumb rolling recording. Nothing more or less always seemed like the perfect middle ground. Its enough to be useful and still respectful enough of the identity of the avg person.

But give people an inch and they take a mile and those basic dumb recordings become over the top bullshit quickly.

I could bitch about a lot of this forever, but text is kind of a crappy place to have nuanced discussions.

[–] Dryad@lemmy.world 74 points 2 days ago

Tell me your country is falling into private sector authoritarianism without telling me your country is falling into private sector authoritarianism.

[–] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 21 points 2 days ago

Feudalism v3.0, the fences to keep humans as livestock are going up. Can't leave town without corporate's permission.

[–] underThunder@thelemmy.club 19 points 2 days ago

What disturbs me most about all the tracking and profile building that's occurring is the loss of the sense of freedom and autonomy we once had when we knew no one was watching us. Just the idea that someone could know more about us than we're willing to share or even know ourselves creates self-imposed limits on our thoughts and actions when it's essential that we maintain these freedoms.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I mean, the real sin here is from the Bluetooth SIG. If you make a radio protocol that broadcasts a unique identifier, it's going to be abused sooner or later.

Google and Apple already know where Bluetooth devices have traveled if an iOS or Android phone using Location Services has come near them at any point.

Other people, like these ALPR guys, can probably harvest a little more data from users of Bluetooth devices, but they aren't going to be the most meaningful harvester, as they have far fewer collection points.

[–] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 36 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Well that's terrible. Gonna need a Bluetooth broadcast device that send all kinds of bogus info to these things and figure out how to spoof a bluetooth mac address. or a hammer or one of them projectile shooters Americans seem to love.

Although, in an alternate timline where technology is used for good, if these things connected to the various find-my networks to help people locate their stuff, that'd be pretty cool.

[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

For MAC spoofing, just do what Apple does; randomly generate a new MAC every minute or so.

I’ve actually got an app on my phone that makes it announce itself as a whole bunch of devices from TVs to pacemakers to headphones, with a rotating MAC. It’s interesting seeing what tries to connect to it.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

For MAC spoofing, just do what Apple does; randomly generate a new MAC every minute or so.

let's hope your headphones and such are doing that too. but realistically, probably they aren't.

[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 36 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

... why, tho? Is this just an end run around the telcos, who can already get all that information but charge for it and they don't wanna pay?

[–] mangaskahn@lemmy.world 78 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

It's because law enforcement needs way less oversight to search a database through a subscription service than to get phone data from the telcos.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago

likely it all goes back to use palantir , im not surprised if this is connect to the palantir AI somehow.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (3 children)

It's a good habit to keep your phone on airplane mode when you can. It also saves on battery.

[–] unitedwithme@lemmy.today 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (12 children)

+1 Phone on airplane mode (eliminates WiFi/BT cellular & GPS tracking)

  1. run physical mobile hotspot device for data (like Calyx hotspot - +2pts of you pick Moxee model to also run rayhunter)

  2. connect to hotspot over WiFi with random MAC addresses (effectively eliminates IMSI tracking)

  3. Enable a solid VPN. (Helps hide location and other usage)

  4. Use chat/text/phone apps over WiFi (eliminates carrier tracking)

  5. +5 for degoogled OS with profiles capability

  6. +3 for Firefox forks like Librewolf or Waterfox with Port Authority and Privacy Badger

EDIT: btw the tech from the article is called SingleTrace...

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Pretty sure I can't use VoWiFi without at least a sim card. How are you going to do that without carrier tracking?

Or are you implying I should be a recluse who can't be reached via phone?

[–] unitedwithme@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago

I've gone the route of setting up my own XMPP server, using jmp.chat to get a new mobile number, and using Cheogram as my client. Works really well for my alt OS phone. You can use Cheogram, Conversations, Snikket, Jabber, etc. You won't be able to use VoLTE or RCS, but I've invited friends to my server instance and just tell them it's a new chat app better than Signal so it has OMEMO e2ee, but you can also text regular phones numbers, too.

load more comments (11 replies)
[–] ranzispa@mander.xyz 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a mobile phone?

I have a machine through which people can contact me at any time and set it up in such way that they cannot contact me.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If you have WiFi everything still works.

[–] ranzispa@mander.xyz 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No, I can not receive calls or sms in airplane mode, even with WiFi enabled.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Skill issue. (Kidding, mostly.)

[–] njordomir@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I've been inefficiently and lazily looking for something that can automatically turn the mobile network on and off again once per hour (or other period of time, potentially even randomized times).

I have been turning my phone off every time I go to the grocer because I firsthand verified that they have BLE beacons in use.

[–] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

If you're on Android then Tasker can definitely do it. Some manufacturers such as Samsung have similar features built in now too.

[–] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You just need the worlds smallest most compact faraday container that you can easily stow it in or special faraday pocketed pants lol

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I mean, turning it off does the job and is easier.

[–] wltr@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 days ago

And saves battery, don’t forget.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The telcos already offer geotracking as a subscription service to LE orgs tho. It's genuinely the same thing, except this data will be crappier and need more direct municipal involvement.

[–] flandish@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago

they’ll have access to it without warrants. that is the entire point.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Since when does your telecom know your license plate?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Gormadt@slrpnk.net 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Looks like I'm gonna have to dig out my CD collection again. I might even still have my binder from way back when.

[–] jasoman@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

And your paper maps

Well, thats appalling.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 8 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Who walks around with their Bluetooth turned on?

[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago

Considering I'm using it almost anytime my phone is on... I am. If I'm not using Bluetooth there's a good chance my phone isn't even turned on.

Lol

[–] sonofearth@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Bruh I have people in my life who say "just keep it on, what's the harm?" when it takes 10s extra to connect to their headphones or cars.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Don't listen to them. Turn it off.

[–] sonofearth@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

I have turned it off 99% of the times these days. My bt headphones also has a wired output and I use it most of the times.

[–] XLE@piefed.social 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Anybody who uses an Android phone and hasn't dug into their Location Services settings, and hasn't disabled them.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 days ago

And anyone with iOS on default settings. For WiFi and Bluetooth, the default is that just hitting the toggle in the drawer thingy is "turn off until tomorrow".

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 days ago

Airplane mode at all times, apparently.

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

load more comments
view more: next ›