Contact Tracing Partnership Between Apple and Google

[TommyG]

Mods if this should be in an existing COVID thread, please move.

If it time to ditch the smartphone for good? I know these things already track us six ways from Sunday and I have had discussions in past with like minded friends that we are going to have to stop carrying them or flat out learn to live without them someday. This Contact Tracking partnership between Apple and Google is pretty brazen/out in the open. Phase One is voluntary. Phase two will be at the operating system level to ensure mass compliance. I know it says the user must opt in but the potential for abuse is gigantic. It is already traceable via the towers and GPS chip. The new feature will be your device pinging every in range device via Bluetooth in real time. Tracks where you are, who you were with or in proximity to (assuming they also have a device which is more likely than not) and for how long.

FAQ from Apple here: https://covid19-static.cdn-apple.com...on-FAQv1.1.pdf

a. Can I turn it off?
Yes. The choice to use this technology rests with the user, and he or she can turn it off at any
time by uninstalling the contact tracing application or turning off exposure notification in
Settings.

I am assuming it would be child's play for them to remotely activate this and trip the Bluetooth to ping should they choose to. Maybe someone who is tech savvy could chime in on that one.

I lived more of my life without one of these things than with it and I am sure I will survive without it if I have to. Wondering if that time is swiftly approaching?

Thoughts? One minute I think my tinfoil hat is getting a little too tight and the next minute I wonder if I should have thrown this thing in the trash years ago.

[MegademiC]

It will likely be added to the next privacy update that no one reads.

Then everyones opted in.

Ive already quit taking my phone everywhere.

[Honu]

will basic burners be put out of existence and smart be the only option ? that is the thing ?

for me a ipad at home is my most used tool these days so it can trace me at home ! knowing who is calling is handy of course but yeah volunteer now and as said in the next update or so ?

I am at the point buy a pre paid cheap burner for daily use when we go out and use that

smartphones are handy but really I do not have FB on it anymore etc... and so much spy crap is going on its insane ! glad to see the AZ AG going after google I wish every state would do this

just remember you are the product these days !

could I have my smart phone and nothing on it use it for the camera and few other things and be happy ? then WHY I would say waste of money but I think so many are blind and sign up and do not go into settings and turn stuff off etc.....

some kinda good stop all outbound traffic hack apps will become more popular

we are going to be in strange times

[chadbag]

Guys. This is a framework that is in the system (at least as of now) and requires an App to actually use it. You have to download the app. Various states/governments are responsible for developing their own apps that use the framework. Don't want to participate, don't download the app.

Can they remotely trigger this? Right now, without an app, there is nothing to trigger.

If you are worried about this, you should have ditched your phone long ago (and your computer and any tech) as there could theoretically already be tons of backdoors and triggers to track you etc.

[grizzlyblake]

It’s already happening. If you have a google phone it’s doing it by default. If you have Facebook it’s doing it by default in the app.

Your phone tracks regular movements to certain retailers, restaurants, certain geographic areas, etc. The information is used for advertising and simply grooms advertising that is displayed in apps, browser banners, etc.

My wife and I tested out a google phone she used to have. We had an in person conversation about baby diapers for a while, while her phone was locked and idle on a table in the room, then her Facebook ads were all for diapers.

Anyone who thinks this is some new cutting edge thing is not paying attention.

If you have a google phone it knows everything. Go back door download your data log. Every voice to text recording you’ve ever done is on their servers, every map route you’ve ever punched in, etc.

[Honu]

I give you iOS 13.5 dude it’s built in now came out couple days ago

Has to be turned on but it’s baked into the os now
sad as apple used to be better then this

Guys. This is a framework that is in the system (at least as of now) and requires an App to actually use it. You have to download the app. Various states/governments are responsible for developing their own apps that use the framework. Don't want to participate, don't download the app.

Can they remotely trigger this? Right now, without an app, there is nothing to trigger.

If you are worried about this, you should have ditched your phone long ago (and your computer and any tech) as there could theoretically already be tons of backdoors and triggers to track you etc.

[chadbag]

I give you iOS 13.5 dude it’s built in now came out couple days ago

Has to be turned on but it’s baked into the os now
sad as apple used to be better then this

See my other comments above. The pinging may be baked in but nothing is reported until you report yourself positive. It still stays on-device until that point.

[Honu]

See my other comments above. The pinging may be baked in but nothing is reported until you report yourself positive. It still stays on-device until that point.

Yeah but they can make it mandatory very easy to be in or contacts won’t work etc....
So the you need to download is off the table etc....
Now it’s do we need to make this a on feature you opt out ?
Then next time you have to have it on ?

To me the baking into os is a bit to far for comfort

The reporting thing won’t be you reporting (some will of course) but is going to be people calling just google .gov contact tracing jobs
Also the testing at hospitals etc... will then put you on a list by default I was told (just got out of hospital yesterday for surgery had my test before surgery was allowed and asked some questions oh negative for covid of course)

[chadbag]

The only thing being baked in AFAIK is the automatic pinging. Right now it needs to be turned on by a framework added after the fact. With it built in the apps don't need to include that framework. You still need to say you are actually sick and at that point is when it uploads the hashed values. Those values do not identify you. They merely allow them to tell others who have seen your beacon to be told they came into contact with someone.

This has nothing to do with your contacts (Apple and Google already have access to your contacts). The Covid tracking, whether "baked in" or as a framework that an app needs to be turned on, does not upload anything until you input that you are actually positive. Then your hashed ID, not linked to any real ID, is uploaded so that the people who have been near you know they were near someone. No one knows actually who that was when they get the report.

Let's take the tinfoil hats off here.

Yeah but they can make it mandatory very easy to be in or contacts won’t work etc....
So the you need to download is off the table etc....
Now it’s do we need to make this a on feature you opt out ?
Then next time you have to have it on ?

To me the baking into os is a bit to far for comfort

The reporting thing won’t be you reporting (some will of course) but is going to be people calling just google .gov contact tracing jobs
Also the testing at hospitals etc... will then put you on a list by default I was told (just got out of hospital yesterday for surgery had my test before surgery was allowed and asked some questions oh negative for covid of course)

[soulezoo]

See my other comments above. The pinging may be baked in but nothing is reported until you report yourself positive. It still stays on-device until that point.

You're wrong. It's not going to work the way you are thinking. State of CA is putting 10,000 people into this effort. 7 days a week, 12 hours a day.

I can't go into details here other than to let you know in no uncertain terms that you are wrong. It's not going to be voluntary, self reporting or otherwise. It's morphing quite quickly into a state run Orwellian dream. Or nightmare depending upon your position. I'm already hearing the whispers of "hey, we can use this for other things too!"