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Android's New Feature Can Share Your Exact Location In Emergency Situation (thenextweb.com)

Posted by msmash on from the interesting-features dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report on The Next Web: When the police, fire brigade or ambulances need to respond quickly to an emergency call, accurate information about the caller's location is crucial in helping them arrive in time to be of assistance. With that in mind, Google has introduced a feature in Android that beams your location to emergency services automatically when you call them. It uses your Wi-Fi, GPS and cell tower information to pinpoint exactly where you are and sends the data without allowing it to be accessed by anyone else. The feature is currently available in UK and Estonia, but Google plans to bring it to other regions as well. If your device has Android 2.3 or newer version, it will be able to make use of the feature.

109 comments

  1. how can it be a new feature by sirber · · Score: 0

    If it's available since Android 2.3?

    --
    Be or ben't
    1. Re:how can it be a new feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It means the update to the dialer can be used on phones as old as Android 2.3. It won't install or run on older phones.

    2. Re:how can it be a new feature by LichtSpektren · · Score: 2

      I think TFS is saying that the feature can be backported to 2.3 or newer. Granted, I don't know what phones out there are on Gingerbread and still getting updates... (Maybe the point of this is so that legislation can mandate it, thus compelling carriers and OEMs to issue a patch, but that's unlikely.)

    3. Re:how can it be a new feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The summary suggests that Android 2.3 or up devices are compatible with this supposed feature.

    4. Re:how can it be a new feature by kruug · · Score: 1

      If it's available since Android 2.3?

      That's just the minimum supported version of Android, not when it was introduced. Like if there was software released today that still supported XP or 98. Doesn't mean that it's been around that long, just that they use compatible libraries to support legacy versions of the OS.

    5. Re:how can it be a new feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who said it's been available since 2.3? "If your device has Android 2.3 or newer version, it will be able to make use of the feature."

    6. Re:how can it be a new feature by kruug · · Score: 0

      Granted, I don't know what phones out there are on Gingerbread and still getting updates...

      A lot of pay-as-you-go phones are still on GB, and didn't Google introduce a way to get updates to the device without needing the hardware manufacturers/carriers involved?

    7. Re:how can it be a new feature by NotInHere · · Score: 2

      Google supplies multiple parts of the OS. One is the runtime for the apps, the actual OS. This one is what is has the 2.3 versions etc. This is also the one that google has no direct control over, as its open source and has to go through the manufacturers first before it reaches the users.

      Then there are the google play services. Its a bundle of apps developed by google, and auto-updating. These are under google's direct control, and this is where the feature was added. They can easily push it to all phones even the older ones as they can update google play services as they want.

      There are phones without google play services, but they are a tiny minority. Most prominent example for android devices without play services are the amazon kindle readers.

    8. Re:how can it be a new feature by rot16 · · Score: 1

      The actual news part here is there are two countries which will receive and make use of that information.

    9. Re:how can it be a new feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's likely just an update to the dialer app, not the OS. Google (or 3rd party devs if you use a different dialer) could update the dialer all the way back to the first version of android if they really wanted to regardless of if the OS is updated or not.

    10. Re:how can it be a new feature by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Informative

      This is for backwards countries that haven't rolled out Enchanced 911 services. Great Britain and Estonia sounds about right. Other countries don't need this because calls to 911 from gps-equiped smartphones already send the location data to the call center via the carrier.

      Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 service

      This type of wireless 9-1-1 service is provided in areas that receive Enhanced 9-1-1 service. To improve the safety and security of Canadians, the CRTC required wireless carriers to upgrade their 9-1-1 services to provide an enhanced capability to identify the location of wireless 9-1-1 callers. This is particularly important in emergency situations where the caller is unable to speak or cannot identify his or her location. This improved location capability is enabled by two technologies:

      Global Positioning System (GPS) or Triangulation Capability

      With Enhanced 9-1-1, wireless carriers use Global Positioning System (GPS) or Triangulation technology to identify a 9-1-1 caller’s location (generally within 50 to 300 meters of the cellphone). The emergency call and the caller’s location are automatically transmitted to a 9-1-1 call centre serving that area.

      Not all new cellphones have GPS capability. To get more information on a cellphone’s 9-1-1 service, check your manual or ask your wireless service provider. GPS capability uses signals from satellites to determine a cellphone’s location.

      If your cellphone does not have GPS capability, wireless carriers can also use triangulation technology, which locates the caller by measuring the cellphone signal’s distance from nearby cellphone towers.

      The location information, as determined by either GPS or triangulation, will be provided to the 9-1-1 operator if you are using either a cellphone with pre-paid minutes or a wireless service plan. If you have a cellphone but are not subscribed to any service, you can still dial 9-1-1 in an emergency and get basic wireless 9-1-1 service.

      The US has a more complicated regulatory environment, where there is a disincentive to offering E911 services because if you (the carrier) does offer it and is not in compliance, the carrier gets penalties imposed.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    11. Re:how can it be a new feature by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Up until a couple of months ago I was still running 2.2.2 on my phone, and I was still getting updates. I'd still be using it now if certain software that I wanted ran on it, and if the battery lasted more than half a day.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    12. Re:how can it be a new feature by kilodelta · · Score: 1

      Yeah I caught that too. Pretty odd - and my phone just did a massive update of Android software today too.

    13. Re:how can it be a new feature by macs4all · · Score: 1

      If it's available since Android 2.3?

      And it's also coming to iOS 10.

    14. Re:how can it be a new feature by johnw · · Score: 1

      I'm now slightly boggled by my Nexus One, which must be nearly 6 years old. The battery still has no difficulty making it through the day. (Although I had to install CyanogenMod and move some of the system to a uSD card in order to keep using it.

    15. Re:how can it be a new feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      911 from gps-equiped smartphones already send the location

      uhh... it's not just "smart phones".... ALL cellular phones sold in the US have required a gps chip and this capability for years... even my lowly flip phone (and the four i had previous to this one) can do this...

    16. Re:how can it be a new feature by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      And yet carriers are not required to support E911, unlike in Canada. Thank your FCC for not having the guts to do the right thing because it might cost the incumbents some money.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    17. Re:how can it be a new feature by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Well, that was a bit of an under-exaggeration. I'd charge it overnight. So first thing in the morning, it would have a full charge. It would be critically low, if not shut off by midnight; often by ten, and sometimes even by 8pm. It became unreliable at the height of its useful period.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    18. Re:how can it be a new feature by johanw · · Score: 1

      It is an update to the Google Play Services, which are still updated for Android 2.3: see http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/g... for the current versions.

    19. Re: how can it be a new feature by fj3k · · Score: 1

      I worked for a company which made handset locating equipment which didn't require the handset's assistance (to support older phones without GPS). All our customers were telecommunications companies who were required to have this capability - this included companies in the US. The only exception to this was a certain US three-letter agency; which we were a little puzzled by, given that to our knowledge they didn't have anything to connect it to.

      --
      Two men claimed to have walked into a bar. Only one had the bruises to prove it.
  2. A little late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Enhanced 911 (E911) service in the US has been doing that for years now.

  3. E-911? by captaindomon · · Score: 1

    How does this differ from E-911, which is already in place in most large jurisdictions in the US? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    --
    Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
    1. Re:E-911? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The new version allows EMS to send a message to your phone politely explaining that there is an emergency so that the phone will automatically send them your location without your knowledge or approval. Just in case, you know.

    2. Re:E-911? by rot16 · · Score: 1

      Cell phone tower's location information and GPS location from the phone? Depends on the site but especially in rural areas phone tower could give you just a approximation several kilometers wide, while even random GPS in your phone narrows it down to ~5 meters (15 feet).

    3. Re:E-911? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Every major wireless carrier and handset on those networks in the US already use GPS assist for location. This was the case even before smartphones were popular. Many "dumb phones" include/included GPS chips that were only activated during 911 service. This must be only for countries that don't have e-911, or it's just redundant.

  4. Define "Emergency" by apoc.famine · · Score: 2

    Who's emergency? TLA's or LEA's "emergency", or my own?

    --
    Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    1. Re:Define "Emergency" by kruug · · Score: 2, Informative

      According to the Google post, it appears to only enable itself when emergency services is contacted. Your phone has to initiate the "emergency".

    2. Re:Define "Emergency" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's what google says. There are enough other organisations around that habitually have different answers (but don't voluntarily share) that you have to assume they'll get their kind of answer if they put their minds to it. That wouldn't be otherwise had google not introduced this, of course, this just makes it that much easier. You could even put on the (government mind control ray attracting! really, look it up) tin foil hats, and surmise that naturally google figures they'll get hit by a NSL sooner or later so they'll just put it in and have android users have some use out of it too.

      Anyway, the mobile phone fixed infrastructure could also give whoever has the most clout the full picture with or without your consent, so the existence of this thing is either a gimmick, or a testament to "inefficiency" -- they could have that data for the technology could give them that data but they aren't having it for whatever reason, regardless of ethical or other considerations. Me, I'm betting on "both".

      Note that above tin foil hattery isn't entirely off the wall, for example because the USA already has a law on the books effectively requiring CDMA phones to have a GPS receiver on board, for exactly for the "911" service's location discovery convenience. GSM doesn't have to because that protocol's location reporting on the tower is within the required accuracy.

    3. Re:Define "Emergency" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the point is that even with GPS and location settings all turned to off. Google does everything in its power to constantly enable them all. Like constantly bugging you to turn on all the location features every time you use Google services... ugh.

      So they probably already have this information sent to them regularly anyways... so no need to worry, your problem is already available. Oh, and join the DNC to future proof your corruption armor.

    4. Re:Define "Emergency" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who's emergency? TLA's or LEA's "emergency", or my own?

      USA's dude, USA's. Remember, we've been under a constant state of emergency for the last 15 years. I doubt you could even turn this feature off.

      They were going to inject the chips into our necks at birth, but then they realized we were all standing in line for days to pay for these location trackers.

    5. Re:Define "Emergency" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As someone who deals with this in LEO, more our own then yours. We will routinely "ping" someone's phone for non-emergency things. If your kid goes out with some guy you don't like? Call us, report her as a runaway or suicidal (this one is common). Wife missing? Same thing. Or hell, just call and say you saw them speeding down a street. Don't mention you're really in the middle of a divorce, or that you really hate her boyfriend. We'll look up her name with the wireless carriers and go from there. Bonus points he's "19" and she's "14".

      We don't use stingray's. This is all provided by the carriers already and there's nothing your phone can do about it.. The ping messages are typically calls that don't last long enough to ring, but are enough to force the phone to reply. SMS can be used as well but runs a risk of raising suspicion depending on the target.

      By the way, yes filing a false report is illegal.

    6. Re:Define "Emergency" by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 1

      Emergency: an advertiser needing to advertise to you.

    7. Re:Define "Emergency" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't tell if you are serious, or not, but I'll pretend you are. If you are in the US and you dial 911, YOU have declared that there is an emergency. Same for other emergency numbers in other parts of the world. Since it's pretty much ILLEGAL to call 911 when there isn't an emergency, any claims that "THEY" are going to use it to get you are ridiculous.

    8. Re:Define "Emergency" by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Since it's pretty much ILLEGAL to call 911 when there isn't an emergency, any claims that "THEY" are going to use it to get you are ridiculous.

      Last I checked, in a few places you still dialed 9-1-1 to reach the PD whether you had an emergency or not. Other places get quite cross about it, which is why the practice should either be made universal or abolished.

      If someone wanted to get you, they'd make your phone dial 9-1-1 and make threats, preferably in your voice. Of course, they have to have owned your phone already, but there's new vulns all the time.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    9. Re:Define "Emergency" by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      Hello, 911! Help I have an EMERGENCY SITUATION. My emergency is that some stalker is trying to locate me!

      What's that you say? In an emergency situation, my phone will share my location?

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    10. Re:Define "Emergency" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's exactly how this should work. Things like OnStar too. When an emergency happens then they get my location. When there's no emergency, nobody gets anything. It's totally possible to design tech that works like this. Of course, nobody does because marketing.

    11. Re:Define "Emergency" by TroII · · Score: 1

      You're making the mistake of trusting that this "feature" will only ever be enabled if the handset dials 911.

      --
      "If there was a gay Afro-Puertorican Linux distribution, I'd give it a try" ~lucm
    12. Re:Define "Emergency" by radiumsoup · · Score: 1

      I've called 911 several times and asked to be transferred to "the local non-emergency police line for town X", and every time they were completely fine with that. Works great when you have a time-sensitive police issue in a town that you don't have the local number for, and it only takes the operator a few seconds to manage.

  5. Is it secure? by kruug · · Score: 1
    From original post:

    This feature is solely for the use of emergency service providers, and your precise location is never seen or handled by Google. It is sent from your handset to emergency services only when you explicitly place an emergency call, either directly or through your mobile network.

    From article:

    It uses your Wi-Fi, GPS and cell tower information to pinpoint exactly where you are and sends across the data without allowing it to be accessed by anyone else.

    Doesn't sound like it can't be accessed by anyone else like the article states, just that it gets sent on a direct route between your phone and emergency services. OTA MITM attacks could still get that information.

    1. Re:Is it secure? by NotInHere · · Score: 2

      This "your precise location is never seen or handled by Google" is just manufactured truth. Yes, it is theoretically correct, but if the location is found using Wi-fi, then it must go over google's servers. Essentially the phone uploads the list of BSSIDs it sees and their strength, and google answers with a location. Its not the "exact" location, as that is a term used for GPS, but google does know and handle your non-exact location when you use their wifi service.

    2. Re:Is it secure? by chispito · · Score: 2

      Doesn't sound like it can't be accessed by anyone else like the article states, just that it gets sent on a direct route between your phone and emergency services. OTA MITM attacks could still get that information.

      I imagine your phone isn't even packaging that information to send unless an emergency call is being placed, much less actually sending it. Are you really concerned about being man-in-the-middled in that scenario? In the US your 911 call becomes public record anyway.

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    3. Re:Is it secure? by EmeraldBot · · Score: 1

      From original post:

      This feature is solely for the use of emergency service providers, and your precise location is never seen or handled by Google. It is sent from your handset to emergency services only when you explicitly place an emergency call, either directly or through your mobile network.

      From article:

      It uses your Wi-Fi, GPS and cell tower information to pinpoint exactly where you are and sends across the data without allowing it to be accessed by anyone else.

      Doesn't sound like it can't be accessed by anyone else like the article states, just that it gets sent on a direct route between your phone and emergency services. OTA MITM attacks could still get that information.

      If you have explicitly placed a call to 911, I think having your location information intercepted is the least of your worries :-)

      --
      "Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
    4. Re:Is it secure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The entire point of what is being rolled out is twofold. Firstly, make sure the call is routed correctly based on location information. You can get donut-shaped responsibility areas, those need to be handled properly. Secondly, the location data is shared in a way that makes most parties happy: the user, the telecom operator and the PSAP. Each has their interests in terms of sharing the dataand requirements in terms of accuracy etc.

      I was slightly involved with developing of these standards and what is being deployed is novel because it is the first proper standard-based solution.

  6. So by ShooterNeo · · Score: 2

    I take it this will work without the user having to approve anything and even if the GPS is turned off in the settings?

    1. Re:So by rot16 · · Score: 1

      The user has to call 911 (or whatever). That's enough of indication you or someone nearby needs help.

    2. Re:So by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      My first Cell Phone (Candy Bar type) had a problem where if you mash on a key for too long it would call 911. So it calls 911 if I bend my leg the wrong way with the phone in my pocket.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    3. Re: So by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are still using your first cell phone!?

    4. Re:So by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Of course it will. Apple and Google phones are full of backdoors that can spy on you when you turn the features off.
      The only way to be truly secure is to buy a Blackberry.

      - Blackberry CEO

    5. Re:So by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey dumbass, E911 has been in place in the US for more than a decade.

    6. Re:So by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, thats funny as hell!

    7. Re: So by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Up until June, I was. I decided to switch when certain services were no longer supported by the phone.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    8. Re:So by MercTech · · Score: 1

      E911 is not universal. The jurisdiction has to pony up the money for the equipment and service charge to implement it. Usually it is the rural or suburban areas that would benefit the most that don't have it.

      --
      NRRPT/RCT
  7. Um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Android has always done this in the US. Is this something new abroad?

  8. finland has it as an app. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i too wonder about if the article is just badly written.

    all you need is the official app.

    and gps on, of course.

    google just flipping a switch and 2.3- forth would be creepy, but it might be done via google cloud. id much prefer an app.

  9. Accurate? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If this is as accurate as Android's SmartLock feature, firefighters will be be breaking down my next door's neighbor's house since my phone always indicate that when I'm home my smartlock location is always next door.

    1. Re:Accurate? by Calydor · · Score: 1

      If your local firefighters rely more on GPS information than where they see smoke coming from you have more stuff to worry about.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    2. Re:Accurate? by bobbied · · Score: 1

      That could be a useful feature for a criminal I guess...

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    3. Re:Accurate? by camperdave · · Score: 1

      How much smoke is emitted by a child who's fallen into a well? Or a vehicle that's rolled over in the ditch?

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  10. Location from Wifi? by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

    Genuinely curious here - how is wifi useful for determining location? Only a very, very small number of wifi access points can have pre-determined GPS locations, and you can't get an address from them.

    I've seen that annoying iPhone pop-up saying that GPS works better with wifi turned on, but always assumed that was a frequency/chipset conflict issue.

    Anyone know?

    1. Re:Location from Wifi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Anywhere a google street view car has been knows the GPS location of all the AP's it has seen...

    2. Re:Location from Wifi? by JohnFen · · Score: 1

      Several companies routinely scan access point IDs and create maps of their physical locations. Most APs remain stationary, being in people's homes or businesses. This allows your phone to notice what AP IDs it sees and look up their physical location, letting the phone get a good idea of where it is even if no GPS is available.

      GPS does not work better with WiFi enabled -- location identification does, by combining the GPS coordinates with the access point location information.

    3. Re:Location from Wifi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Crowd source it.
      The google maps app was capturing WiFi hotspot names, signal strength, and tagging their gps location based on your current known location.
      (I believe the google street view vans were also doing the same.)

      http://www.cnet.com/news/google-mobile-apps-collect-wi-fi-location-data/

    4. Re:Location from Wifi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GeoIP databases, duh.

    5. Re:Location from Wifi? by Solandri · · Score: 1

      It is very useful. The vast majority of wifi access points have fixed locations (homes, businesses). In my experience (I used my phone with GPS off in an older handset because it wasn't implemented properly and drained the battery), it's nearly as good as GPS - usually able to pinpoint you to about 20 meters.

      Remember when Google got in trouble with the EU because their Google Street View cars were capturing too much wifi info? They were recording wifi info to build a global map of wifi hotspots specifically for wifi-based location services. Remember when Apple got in hot water for iPhones sending people's GPS location history back to Apple? They were doing that for the same reason - to build up a global map of wifi hotspots.

    6. Re:Location from Wifi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In addition to the other replies (2 to date), any phone with WiFi, GPS and Cell Data enabled can send goog which WIFI AP it sees at what GPS coordinates.

      This might explain why I hear about Android phones turning on WiFi, GPS and Cell Data by themselves.

    7. Re:Location from Wifi? by swillden · · Score: 1

      GPS does not work better with WiFi enabled

      Actually, your GPS receiver can pinpoint your location more rapidly if it has a good approximate location to start with, which it can get from Wifi location. If your GPS receiver had to start from scratch (no assumption about initial location), it could take multiple minutes to locate you because it has to find and identify multiple satellites, and listen for a full 30-second cycle from each. With a good location estimate plus an already-synchronized clock, the GPS receiver can refine your location in a few seconds.

      So GPS does work better with Wifi enabled. And, as you said, location services can use Wifi even when GPS isn't available. In cities Wifi can be much better than GPS because unobstructed views of the sky are hard to come by, and the Wifi AP density is high.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    8. Re:Location from Wifi? by arth1 · · Score: 1

      It is very useful. The vast majority of wifi access points have fixed locations (homes, businesses). In my experience (I used my phone with GPS off in an older handset because it wasn't implemented properly and drained the battery), it's nearly as good as GPS - usually able to pinpoint you to about 20 meters.

      However, can fixed location be taken for granted in a life and death situation? My phone might pick up an access point of someone who just moved here and brought their WiFi router with them. The databases will still have the old address. So the dispatcher sends a response team to that location because it is "more precise"?

    9. Re:Location from Wifi? by JohnFen · · Score: 1

      Yes, that's an excellent point.

    10. Re:Location from Wifi? by MercTech · · Score: 1

      Location via wifi assumes the location of the service coincides with the "service address" of the provider. The big guys share the "service location" of customers. The smaller ISPs may report the business address of the ISP. (When on a wifi access point at a local burger chain; if I do a phone located on my phone it reports the regional office address of the burger chain.)
            Location of a wifi access point is easier to spoof or just be reported erroneously than a GPS location via cellular WAN.

      --
      NRRPT/RCT
  11. Beaming? by trampel · · Score: 1

    If they manage to add a Transporter to Android, with just a software update no less, wouldn't it make more sense to beam the phone's owner to emergency services instead of her location?

  12. Emergency Situation Being ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must be targeted from space with a death ray.

  13. EXACT location? by mark-t · · Score: 1

    Like, including what floor you happen to be on in an apartment building?

    ... uses your Wi-Fi, GPS and cell tower information to pinpoint exactly where you are

    None of that contains any information about altitude. While it is technically possible to measure altitude as well and relay that, you cannot do so with enough anywhere close enough precision to get the exact floor of a building that you happen to be on if you live in an apartment building.

    Land lines still rule for emergency services immediately knowing exactly where you are.

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  14. Compromise in 3...2...1... by davidwr · · Score: 1

    It uses your Wi-Fi, GPS and cell tower information to pinpoint exactly where you are and sends the data without allowing it to be accessed by anyone else. [emphasis added]

    Um, yeah.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  15. Tracking by bagofbeans · · Score: 1

    This feature, when supported by your network, sends location from your phone to emergency services when you dial an emergency number. This feature is solely for the use of emergency service providers, and your precise location is never seen or handled by Google. It is sent from your handset to emergency services only when you explicitly place an emergency call, either directly or through your mobile network.

    So a lookup table matches the outgoing phone number, and sends an SMS or similar to the LUT referenced other number with phone details and location.

    Colour me very cynical, but could an NSL or court order force that LUT to include a collection of a suspect's acquaintances for tracking purposes?

  16. Is there an app for that? by mspohr · · Score: 1

    I've often thought it would be useful to send my location to someone (by SMS, email, etc.).
    This feature only seems to work with 911 services.
    Does anyone know of an app which can send your location? (It would be nice if it was also integrated with maps.)

    --
    I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    1. Re:Is there an app for that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      glympse?

  17. Can I enable this for non-emergencies too? by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 1

    Exact location? Sign me up for non-emergency use, please.

    I never realized how shitty my phone's GPS was (it was always good enough for driving), until I started playing this fucking new game (you know the one). I can literally touch a certain gym's real-world counterpart with my hand, but in the game, I'm running back and forth from one side of it to the other, always "too far away."

    --
    "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
  18. Practical uses by el_flynn · · Score: 1

    Your knee-jerk reaction would be "great, another useless feature that lets big brother know where I am".

    But there _are_ real-world use cases for this, paranoia aside.

    In my country, this type of feature is used for situations where emergency response teams need to be dispatched for cases of terrorism and insurgency. Being able to know the exact location of a place that's under attack can make a difference.

    --
    The Wknd Sessions - Malaysian and South East Asia independent music
  19. Life Hacks by daveime · · Score: 1

    Pro Tip: Only have an emergency in the UK or Estonia.

  20. In version 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In version 2, cops get your exact location when they call you. And you don't have to answer. Or turn your phone on. Because safety. Also it's illegal not to have your phone on your person at all times. Because freedom.

  21. It's a really great idea by aglider · · Score: 1

    Until emergency rescue systems will get hacked!

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  22. There's Always Room for Anti-features by Kunedog · · Score: 1

    No matter how notoriously lax or reluctant a company is to support old products, you can always count on tracking* or advertisement** "features" to be backported to as many devices as possible, because those benefit the "top" (execs, marketing, law enforcement, etc.) much more than the "bottom" (users).

    * see telemetry and other spying in Windows 7/8

    ** see Samsung pushing embedded ads to legacy TVs

  23. Why not make this a user-controlled feature? by laird · · Score: 2

    Why not let users send their position by hitting a button? I'm thinking that it could insert text giving your location in text, or speech into a phone call, if you hit a "send my location" button. Then it'd work not just magically with E911 services (which, of course, is a great thing) but could work on normal phone calls (e.g. a kid calling Mom for help) or SMS (e.g. a kid texting Mom for help). The phone has the info, and it'd be easier to deploy, because it doesn't require any integration to anything outside of the phone.

    --
    Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
  24. Be nice to expand this by lazlo · · Score: 2

    What I'd like to see is something that can share my exact location with non-emergency services in non-emergency situations. Like when my wife asks "where are you?" or I ask my kids the same, it'd be nice to have a button to push that says "I'm right here" with coordinates and maybe even map-based street addresses (and if you want to get *really* fancy, would also send my current destination and ETA if navigation was active)

    It's entirely possible this already exists and I just haven't found it yet.

    --
    Pound! Bang! Bin! Bash! is this a shell script or a Batman comic?
    1. Re:Be nice to expand this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you tried using Glympse?

    2. Re:Be nice to expand this by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

      Depending on your carrier you can log into their website or install an app on your phone and check the gps location of any phone on your account...

    3. Re:Be nice to expand this by ndogg · · Score: 2

      You already can in Hangouts. Not sure about other messaging apps.

      --
      // file: mice.h
      #include "frickin_lasers.h"
    4. Re:Be nice to expand this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WhatsApp has this feature

    5. Re:Be nice to expand this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whatsapp can send your actual position

      Glympse can track your position in realtime, and you can share it with a link (you can decide for how long it should track you, etc)

    6. Re:Be nice to expand this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you use facebook messenger it has a send location feature. Just click the 3 little dots and there's an option for sending any location including your current one.

  25. Missing the point by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    I'm less concerned about my exact location being sent in emergencies than by the fact that my phone can now be hacked to provide by exact location AT ALL TIMES. Do I now need to carry my phone around in a Faraday cage? (By the way, my phone was able to "see" WiFi routers at work even inside the very expensive Faraday cage that HP had built, although I was told that was only because the door wasn't sealed properly.)

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Missing the point by npslider · · Score: 1

      I've long since accepted the fact that a cell phone is no different than a tracking tag. We are all animals in some giant research project. I just hope I am one of the lucky ones that gets a prize!

      But sadly I feel naked without my phone... and yet I remember a time when I never owned one and being stuck in blizzard in a ditch was a much scarier thought - but I am still here. Maybe we don't need the gadgets as much as we think.

    2. Re:Missing the point by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I'm less concerned about my exact location being sent in emergencies than by the fact that my phone can now be hacked to provide by exact location AT ALL TIMES.

      Nobody has to hack your phone at all to get your location down to a few meters in the best case, using DtoA. You just have to be in sight of two towers. Then they do a little math with your timestamps and they know right where you are. Get over the idea of positional privacy if you have a cellphone turned on.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  26. You can use my web page by raymorris · · Score: 1

    No need for an app. You can load up my web page. It will both send an sms and provide a Google maps link. For SMS, put the recipient's phone number after the question mark un the URL:

    http://clonebox.net/where/?123...

    You can also view the source of the page to see how I request the location and make your own page, if you like.

    Please don't use mine thousands of times. If you need to get locations from tens of thousands of people, let me know and I'll make you your own copy.

  27. How accurate? by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    I watched surveyors yesterday carrying around a portable plastic antenna; they said it was a GPS "rover". Which begs the question, how accurate is GPS? Do surveyors have access to the non-dithered GPS signal? Or are they only using it for relative positioning from a marked location, which is probably a lot more accurate than using it for absolute position?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:How accurate? by PPH · · Score: 1

      Probably DGPS.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  28. Or by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    Or when the organs of state security deem you a threat.

  29. This is capitalism killing you... by evilviper · · Score: 1

    The story here, is that cellular providers are leaving you to die alone...

    The feds have been pushing for more advanced cellular locator technology for many years now. That would include things like altimeters/pressure sensors in all new cell phones, so that in a high rise building they can at least tell which floor you are on. Or U-TDOA high-accuracy triangulating receivers on cell towers. Or even an E-911 location for cell phones on file, so emergency services will at least know your exact home address.

    The big-4 cellular service providers pushed back hard against any such requirements, refusing on the grounds of making cell service slightly more expensive. Their excuses being that things like this WiFi location service will be an adequate alternative, and so FCC rules continue to get watered down. "T-Mobile said, is that the FCC should not require wireless carriers to meet the proposed guidelines, and that the agency should instead seek other ways to locate indoor 911 callers."

    There are innumerable stories of people who died because emergency services couldn't get an accurate enough location to reach the victim in time. Numerous wrenching horror stories where operators listed to someone die over the phone while they waited around several minutes for an accurate enough GPS location to even find the right building. Never-mind locating the correct floor, let alone the exact apartment/condo/office/car/etc.

    "an http://msmagazine.com/blog/201...>estimated 10,000 Americans who will die this year because wireless companies donâ(TM)t transmit precise enough location data to 9-1-1 operators"

    God help you if you are incapacitated by an emergency in such a location, and there doesn't happen to be any WiFi APs around to help Google and the first-responders locate you. Thanks to your service provider, the paramedics have much lower odds of finding you.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    1. Re:This is capitalism killing you... by evilviper · · Score: 1

      Broken link is: http://msmagazine.com/blog/201...

      See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  30. I'm probably wrong but by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 1

    In the US, wasn't this the whole reason that GPS on cell phones became mandatory ?
    No nononononono. . . . it's not to track you ! It's in case you ever call 911 so the dispatcher will know exactly where you are ! That was the selling point if I recall.

    Besides, I have access to quite a bit of 911 traffic and when testing this stuff in the past, I typically see GPS coords as part of what is transmitted across when a call is made if the user is calling via cell phone.

    Example of traffic that came across just moments ago: ( sanitized of course )

    12:53:07
    (123)456-7890 WRLS
    ID= 123

    SPRINT

    ESN 12345
    SPY RD - OMNI

    CALLBK=(123)456-7890
    SNEAKY ESTATES
    UT. CO=SP PCS
    P# (123) 456-7890

    WIRELESS: NWCD
    REQUEST CALLER LOCATION
    REQUEST CALLER NUMBER

    X=-111.932988
    Y=+40.426338

    CF= 90%
    UF=1281 M
    Z=231.00 M

    So do we really need another APP to do this ? Or does the new method limit access to this data to only emergency personnel and not everything and its brother ( other apps ) on the phone ?

  31. Title by Eyezen · · Score: 1

    Title is misleading... It should read the exact location of a phone phone location != person location

  32. This "feature" would be a guaranteed gimmy by jraff2 · · Score: 1

    In the USA this feature would be a guaranteed "NSA and all other TLAs" Local, County, State, and Federal police would mandate that they MUST be able to get it at ALL times. This is too good to be true. A Guaranteed locator! No more use of StingRay.

    1. Re:This "feature" would be a guaranteed gimmy by jraff2 · · Score: 1

      I can hear them typing out the NSLs now!

  33. Yes but does the PSAP support it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even if this is enabled that doesn't mean that the PSAP you get connected to will be able to actually receive that information and even if they do if it can be easily transmitted to the responders.

    I work in communications and 911 is a huge mess in the US - there are no guidelines on what is required for PSAPs and as far as what technologies they use it's a total crapshoot. Many of them are very old - not to mention even underfunded.

    Watch this video for an introduction on what a mess 911 is in the US - including a woman who drowned after giving her location to the 911 operator because they couldn't find it on their map!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-XlyB_QQYs

  34. Seriously... by 101percent · · Score: 1

    There goes that movie plot element for the future.

  35. E911 is nothing remotely new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google is pumping bullshit on Slashdot 2 stories in a row, that means the US government is pumping bullshit on Slashdot.

    gtfo cunts

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  37. Could be Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This could be a great idea.

    However Google has a habit of spilling data and then claiming "oops! We didn't mean to do that and we'll tighten up the system right away!" And then because Android's update system is totally borked (thanks Google!), maybe 1% of existing Android phones ever get the updates.

    Is Google going to Oops this one and broadcast your location information to millions of corporations, TLAs and carriers?