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Lawsuit Claims Windows Phone 7 Spies On Users
jfruhlinger writes "Microsoft wants to emulate the success of the iPhone, but they probably didn't want to follow in Apple's footsteps this way: a class action lawsuit claims that Windows Phone 7 is collecting location data on users, even when they request that it stop. But a look at the internals shows that Microsoft might not be acting as Big Brother-ish as it appears."
Both of them?
Help stamp out iliturcy.
It's much more secure and it's not Microsoft.
all cell phones do it, even if you dont have a 3g or 4g phone it still gets your location to make sure your within a certain location so you will/wont pay more for out of service fees and any phone with a gps on it always tracts you anyways just in case of an emergency
This reveals a lot about Microsoft. Already, people who have a Windows Phone 7 are neither iPhone nor Android users. They're already suffering enough and Microsoft has to pile on the indignity of stealing their measly data. Microsoft must know everything there is to know about the 536 people--worldwide--who bought the Windows Phone 7.
Bet the same people invested heavily in Silverlight...
If you don't like it, don't use 'em.
Enlightenment is a pipe dream. So where's the pipe?
either the government or the fatcat corporate types in this modern-day fascist Corporatocracy
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
And they're telling everyone! Everywhere! Just now, I checked in with them, you're in the bathroom slashdotting! They told me so, and G+ says you're low on toilet paper! OH NOES!!! on a lighter note, only a silly person thinks they're getting location data for free from a service which isn't also recording that location data. How do you think they fund the service?
He concluded that "the Windows Mobile operating system is clearly sending information that can lead to accurate location information of the mobile device regardless of whether the user allowed the Camera application to share location information or not."
Is he testing Windows Mobile or Windows Phone 7? I RTFA and the linked articles and can't seem to find the testing methodology or any documentation.
And wouldn't you want that accurate location information to be sent if you were using the Find My Phone thing (just like you would with Apple's Find My iPhone):
Microsoft's "Find My Phone," meanwhile, only keeps the device's most recent location, the company said.
Of course you have to trust that the company is only keeping the most recent location but that's the case with all providers.
All phones do it, because otherwise the provider wouldn't know which tower to route the call through when someone calls you, and your phone wouldn't ring.
"Follow in Apple's footsteps"? If you want to compare them to someone, pick Google, the biggest privacy violator in this market. Even after Apple stopped crowdsourcing location information, Google is still using it to track Android users. There is a reason they spend millions of dollars to develop Android, and it's not benevolent.
I guess I shouldn't expect more from the /. crowd. You guys still believe the "Don't Be Evil" line from 10 years ago.
...that the "7" in Windows Phone 7 referred to the number of users?
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
I've had a Windows Phone 7 device since day one, and it asks at every turn before doing something that would collect location (or any other) data. If it's true and not just a misconfigured device or data being poorly interpreted, I'd be surprised if it was intentional.
But, I know I know. Always assume the worst yada yada. Microsoft is evil, right?
(htc, google, and amazon iirc)
For now, I've set the offending dirs to read-only so no files are written, and all's well, but I don't think reading the fine print buried in settings>about>legal is akin to "explicitly asking for permission".
(And I don't think having to root your phone to chmod dirs read-only is a user-friendly way to decline these "features")
IIRC a Googler said it was used [maybe legitimately] for 'debugging', but the number of files found (in each directory) logging every event was offensive if only for the amount of phone storage it eats up (and I won't even go there re: syncing those files to clouds and bad data plans—I suppose a few MBs/day isn't a huge deal).
(Of course, my biggest concern is privacy :)
Kiss my ass WP7 is great. So what if it they log your location, every other freaking device is subject to the same shit. I for one am sick of this bash Microsoft all the time around here on slashdot almost makes it not worth reading the cruf posted on this site anymore.
Latest cellphone marketshare numbers show your piece of shit WP7 has plummeted yet again this past month.
500 million in PR and advertising to buy reviews and fluff articles and only a handful of idiots like RightSadFred99 are dumb enough to buy their dead cellphone OS.
Epic Fail Microsoft.
It asks you if its ok to send the data, then it sends the data anyway with a flag saying not to use it.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20057329-281.html
"Windows Phone 7, supported by manufacturers including Dell, HTC, LG, Nokia, and Samsung, transmits to Microsoft a miniature data dump including a unique device ID, details about nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the phone's GPS-derived exact latitude and longitude."
"Microsoft says that in the case of Windows Phone 7, location information is transmitted to its servers only if Wi-Fi and location services are turned on. It also points out it offers a global switch to turn off all location-based services"
So if you have WiFi on and GPS on, then it's sending your location details to Microsoft HQ with or without your permission.
Are we really going to have to go through this with EVERY phone?
He calls one app collecting data an oversight. What I want to know is why would he thinks an evil microsoft would need more. I'm sure they would like to eliminate duplicate data at the source.
But, I know I know. Always assume the worst yada yada. Microsoft is evil, right?
Not necessarily. But without a complete set of facts one must make an assumption. An assumption is based on what we know and what is likely to have happened. What I know as a non-WP7 users is that Microsoft is being sued, that Microsoft is supposedly spying on consumers, that they are competitors to a company who make it their business to spy on consumers, and that the way they treat their users typically is nothing short of contempt.
The logical assumption is yes, Microsoft is evil and is spying. If this is not the case to draw any other conclusion is ludicrous, fanboyism, or relies on knowing more information than what was given TFA and history :-)
Apple wasn't collecting users' actual location; they were collecting the cell towers they were near. Beyond that, it was a bug that, when reported, was fixed within days. Heaven forbid someone just tell Apple (or whatever company) that they have a bug, so not scare people over nothing.
and you all think Google isn't doing the same thing?.................Google=advertising company=need your data=selling things
Ummm... it's what?!?!?!? Do you seriously have enough experience with both platforms to make such a judgement?
What part of this article was about security? What kind of security are you talking about?
Blackberry is a Java based phone. If you find ANY opening in it that would allow you to alter the class loader code, it's all tits to the wind after that. You could insert viruses all over that. Oh and given the crap quality of the app store, it seems like it's probably REALLY easy to get an app on the device with malicious intent.
Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry are EQUALLY shitty with regards to security and quite spouting off worthless trash like this. Show me a secure smart phone operating system and I'll sell you this bridge I own in Brooklyn.
But without a complete set of facts one must make an assumption.
No, without a complete set of facts, you go looking for a complete set of facts. Making assumptions is what everybody expects you to do, and it leads to people only feeding you partial information in an attempt to guide you towards a specific assumption.
I'm Rocco. I'm the +5 Funny man.
Get a grip ladies.... 1 application isn't behaving properly.... whoopdedoo...
Go have a nice cup of tea and biscuits .... leave the rest to the big boys...
"Microsoft wants to emulate the success of the iPhone"
So does Apple "want to emulate the success of the PC"?
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Everything that gets released with public 'net access are found to have some piece(s) of software/hardware that 'violate privacy'.
In the end, some say, "it sure is and I can prove it" and others say, "it actually isn't and there are ways to see clearly that it isn't true."
Actually, I'm glad that this is being posted so hardcore geeks have a chance to test it and see what the end results are (basically acquire more data).
Eh, it will repeat itself in a different way a little after the dust settles. *tee hee* :)
When you get a cell phone, you're gonna be tracked. It could be iPhone, Android, W7, or even a "dumbphone". They will track you. We accept this when we get cell phones.
All the world's a CPU, and all the men and women merely AI agents
I'm not - the ipod touch (no gps, no cell) had/has the same tracking issues. If the phone didn't cache 'what is local', it would have to reload its info every time, which is slow and would yield a bunch of weenies whining "my iphone is killing my data plan". Unfortunately, part of caching is tracking - from reversing the age of the cached locations, I can effectively track you.
The appearance problem is maintaining the tracking explicitly. If I delete the explicit track, I can infer most of the information by inverting the 'what is local' cache.
Alternatively, when I arrive at a location, I can send a "whats near me" to a server somewhere, which causes weenie whining about privacy.
in short; your privacy or your data plan is the choice; the weenies will whine either way.
Unfortunately unless you work as a programmer for Microsoft's WP7's customer data stealing department you can never truly get a complete set of facts. There are assumptions and trusting others involved in every step of the way.
Sure with more facts the assumptions are lower, but don't pretend you don't make one, even if the only assumption you make is that the person who has all the facts is telling you the truth.
Plus I have better things to do then investigative journalism for every Microsoft is Evil (tm) case I hear about. Making certain assumptions is the sensible thing to do.
Unfortunately unless you work as a programmer for Microsoft's WP7's customer data stealing department you can never truly get a complete set of facts. There are assumptions and trusting others involved in every step of the way.
Nice. That way, there is no way of ever proving you wrong, is there?
Plus I have better things to do then investigative journalism for every Microsoft is Evil (tm) case I hear about. Making certain assumptions is the sensible thing to do.
It's not the sensible thing to do. It just happens to be what furthers your agenda.
I'm Rocco. I'm the +5 Funny man.