Google doorbell sends private data out without your knowledge or consent enhancing the abilities of the companies involved to track your online activities.
And just in case the bit about certificates and HTTPS goes over your head - it boils down to the fact that the app goes to considerable lengths to hide what is being sent from the owner of the phone.
This sort of thing is why I have a default policy of distrust for, well, pretty much all software that I can’t build from source code.
It’s hard to police on your phone though and will get harder if we accept more and more locked-down devices and “Internet of Things” gadgets into our lives.
That is my motto. I dont have a “smart” phone, i still use a 12 year old Siemens S6. only calls and text messages. no internet thingymebobs. I dont need apps and such shit to rule my life.
Though the counterpoint to this is, obviously Free (libre) and Open Source Software - if you have the source code then the application can be audited - it’s not impossible to hide “bad stuff” in open source code - but it is a lot harder.
Bloody hell, missed that one - Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - indeed!!
But you have a computer and go online to post on this site and maybe check your bank balance and pay your bills.
And your old mobile phone can be tracked whenever it is switched on.
Most people have decided that the benefits outweigh the risks, or just don’t think they are important enough to be of interest.
Maybe all we need to know is that the Internet is a jungle, full of traps for the unwary and behave accordingly.
In my opinion you are missing out on many of the conveniences of modern life. It’s your choice of course but in my smart phone and tablet are useful tools that allow me to make the most of so many situations. You obviously don’t understand and without experiencing them you possibly never will. You take the glass half empty approach, I’m happy for mine to be half full and know that my life is easier and more interesting for me by taking advantage of these little things. I’m away from home at the moment and my devices smooth out so many things.
Apps and shit certainly don’t rule my life but I’d be an absolute fool not to take advantage of what they offer.
Mike, yes i have a laptop and tablet and yes i do go online and use online banking. I use my old dependable 2 week charge phone for a reason. When i say i dont need apps and such shite, i am referring to those who for some unknown reason cant live without them and the first thing in the morning have the phone up and running. My phone is used for just making calls. The fact that it can be traced to within a 50 m or so radius is very clear to me.
Dan, I know where you are coming from ( and probably where you will end up) but reading your post above is exactly that what i dont need in my life. Tools are in my toolbox in the workshop not in my pocket. I understand fully and i have experienced them, my glass is full and like you say i am more than happy to enjoy my life and work without apps and shit ruling it. Like you, I am also away from home as in most weeks but my phone doesn’t dictate my life. I see it day in and day out when a colleague’s phone goes down, they are absolutely fecked and stressed out about it. Nah thanks i dont need it.
They are so many Apps out there now and developing one is so easy that it’s impossible to police them. So this is an OS problem not an App problem. The OS should block an App from accessing this information unless you specifically authorise it and it shouldn’t allow the App to communicate with unauthorised IP addresses. Browsers have lists of dodgy and spoof IP addresses and issue warnings. There is no reason the OS couldn’t do the same for Apps.
I know Guy, I don’t like Android (though I’ve no problem with Linux) and I’ve always considered it a Trojan horse. Unfortunately I have to use it because Apple don’t do dual physical sim phones.
You obviously haven’t got a clue so let’s not labour the point. You do it your way but just let the rest of us benefit hugely. You obviously wouldn’t want to understand just how much my smartphone and tablet have smoothed my life in the past 24 hours. Your loss.
x several million.