CheetosdustDec 22, 2022
Kashmir Hill
A tech company source used to make me turn off my phone before meetings because of concern that his employer would check to see if our phones were near each other. This was not a crazy concern it turns out! TikTok tried something like this to hunt down leakers: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/technology/byte-dance-tik-tok-internal-investigation.html
ByteDance Inquiry Finds Employees Obtained User Data of 2 Journalists

The company’s internal investigation showed that workers also obtained data on a small number of other U.S. users.

The New York Times
Dec 22, 2022 at 6:50pmWeb
Show threadVissDec 22, 2022

@kashhill the tech exists already - they use it in stores to track bluetooth beacons.

folks who have gps on and bluetooth on at the same time are opting in to some serious fuckery

Show threadLesley Carhart Dec 22, 2022
@kashhill I’d expect it from almost any company with a location tracker after Uber’s shenanigans a few years back.
Show threadA Cyber ExpertDec 22, 2022

@kashhill
I turned off my devices before entering a building for an interview. Gotta be careful with electronic monitoring.

When I exited the building we took different lifts so we wouldn’t be seen together.

In public if we saw each other I had an alternate back story for why we were on first name terms.

Later I accidentally submitted my taxi receipt to my current boss for reimbursement.

Show threadSiteBastion Dec 22, 2022
@kashhill If you’re wondering how a company could think this is OK, look at the environment in which ByteDance operated at home…
Show threadJon Vander PolDec 22, 2022
@kashhill I swear FB has had this technology for almost a decade or am I just being paranoid @profcarroll ?
Show threadDavid CarrollDec 22, 2022
@AmericanTimes @kashhill For sure and Kashmir Hill has done crucial reporting on FB proximity detection and its effects/uses.
Show threadTiakuh SonDec 22, 2022
@kashhill And yet several companies don't suppor projects for phone privacy. They also only remember the importance of open source when some vulnerabilities appear. Then they really need it fixed for yesterday...
Show threadJ. WilliamsDec 22, 2022
@kashhill Ok, so yet another reason why you shouldn't install social apps on your phone.
Show threadJ. PetersonDec 22, 2022

@kashhill The Reply All podcast did a story on Facebook's data collection, and discovered your phone's proximity to other phones was a key data vector they used for targeting ads & recommendations.

TIP: Never download a social app. Just spies on you & runs your battery down. Access via the web page instead. Closing the tab == no spying.

Show threadKashmir HillDec 23, 2022
@isonno really? I was never able to confirm that to be the case though I did reporting on their use of location. Have a link to that episode handy?
Show threadJ. PetersonDec 23, 2022

@kashhill Here's the one that comes to mind:

https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/z3hlwr

People suspected FB was eavesdropping, but some of the situations could be explained by correlating phone location data.

A ProPublica reporter in this episode describes FB collecting an estimated 52,000 different data elements per user to use for targeting and recommendations.

#109 Is Facebook Spying on You?

This year we’ve gotten one question from listeners more than any other: is Facebook eavesdropping on my conversations and showing me ads based on the things that I say? This week, Alex investigates.

Gimlet
Show threadBennet KelleyDec 22, 2022
@kashhill Wow. Its almost as if there needs to be a whistleblowers checklist.
Show threadMazal ​Dec 22, 2022
@kashhill how very travis kalanick era Uber of them. 🕵️​
Show thread\\Dec 23, 2022
@kashhill We’re like a decade past the point where that should’ve just been normal security procedure. It was a story even during the Snowden leaks that turning the phone back on remotely is a consideration if the battery isn’t removable, so at this point farraday bags should just be standard before you get near a building for a sensitive meeting, and the phone left well away from where the meeting takes place in case local recording malware is present on the device.
Show threadÆnðr E. FeldstrawDec 23, 2022
@kashhill Yay! Gotta source my minidisks from somewhere!
Show threadPointyEnd 🇮🇪 ☘️⚓RCN Vet⚓🇨🇦Dec 23, 2022

@kashhill

I wonder if there is still a market for those old analog voice activated tape recorders that could fit in your pocket. Its not as snazzy as smart phone recording but unless they frisk you, you can hand over your phone and still get the 'dirt' or whatever.

Down side you would have to wire yourself up like some 70's mob movie.

Show threadSerge EgelmanDec 24, 2022
@kashhill I’ve heard this from several former employees of (presumably) that same company. When the TikTok story came out, I was surprised at the surprise, since I thought it was somewhat of an open secret at that point (not TikTok specifically doing it, but that this is a practice that’s been occurring for years, at least at other companies with popular apps that collect location data).