Ask HN: How are mobile apps able to track users without permission?

4 pointsratg136d ago3 comments

With location data being sold and used by more and more actors, I am curious to know how mobile apps are able to bypass intended preferences to know a user's location.

To illustrate this I'll use an example that I saved some screenshots from.

https://imgur.com/a/how-does-uber-know-where-i-am-AGYdoyt

Here is a message I got seconds after wheels touched down in Toronto with Uber welcoming me to Toronto.

I had not even taken my phone out of flight mode yet, but somehow the app knew where I was, despite not having mobile service, wifi or bluetooth enabled.

I also have settings for the application set to only allow location while the app is in use.

I generally do not use uber. For transportation I generally rely on public transportation, have transportation arranged, or rent a car.

I use uber maybe 1-2 times a year maximum, and at this point it would have been at least 6-8 months since my last uber.

I have never ordered uber eats, and never used uber in Toronto.

I even went through the accordion view of open applications to see if uber was opened recently, and it wasn't even in the list.

How is it that an app that I essentially never use, and had not used recently is able to determine my exact location despite me setting appropriate preferences that I would think should avoid this?

Do I need to be more paranoid and start disabling location services entirely?

Is there some setting I am missing?

3 comments

pwg6d ago

Best guesses:

> I had not even taken my phone out of flight mode yet, but somehow the app knew where I was, despite not having mobile service, wifi or bluetooth enabled.

None of which are GPS, which is likely what Uber used to know you had "touched down". And GPS, being "receive only" may not be disabled by "airplane mode".

> I also have settings for the application set to only allow location while the app is in use.

Is that a phone setting, or an app. internal setting (i.e., a setting inside the Uber app. itself)?

If it is a phone setting (external to the app) then this would imply that it may not really do what it says it does.

If the setting is inside the Uber app. itself, then that is just a "promise" by the app. developer that they will behave, and if it is this case, then they clearly did not behave.

Edit to add: Checking my android phone just now, GPS is not disabled by airplane mode.

ratg13OP6d ago

App setting

Yes I understand that GPS still works in airplane mode, but the app should not have my location made available to it when I am not using it

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