That's Not Your Phone; It's A Tracking Device That Makes Calls
Peter Maass and Megha Rajagopalan lay it out in the NYT:
Most doubts about the principal function of these devices were erased when it was recently disclosed that cellphone carriers responded 1.3 million times last year to law enforcement requests for call data. That's not even a complete count, because T-Mobile, one of the largest carriers, refused to reveal its numbers. It appears that millions of cellphone users have been swept up in government surveillance of their calls and where they made them from. Many police agencies don't obtain search warrants when requesting location data from carriers....The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, ruling about the use of tracking devices by the police, noted that GPS data can reveal whether a person "is a weekly church goer, a heavy drinker, a regular at the gym, an unfaithful husband, an outpatient receiving medical treatment, an associate of particular individuals or political groups -- and not just one such fact about a person, but all such facts." Even the most gregarious of sharers might not reveal all that on Facebook.
There is an even more fascinating and diabolical element to what can be done with location information. New research suggests that by cross-referencing your geographical data with that of your friends, it's possible to predict your future whereabouts with a much higher degree of accuracy.
This is what's known as predictive modeling, and it requires nothing more than your cellphone data.
If you want to avoid some surveillance, the best option is to use cash for prepaid cellphones that do not require identification. The phones transmit location information to the cell carrier and keep track of the numbers you call, but they are not connected to you by name. Destroy the phone or just drop it into a trash bin, and its data cannot be tied to you. These cellphones, known as burners, are the threads that connect privacy activists, Burmese dissidents and coke dealers.
...Matt Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, has written extensively about these issues and believes we are confronted with two choices: "Don't have a cellphone or just accept that you're living in the Panopticon."
There is another option. People could call them trackers. It's a neutral term, because it covers positive activities -- monitoring appointments, bank balances, friends -- and problematic ones, like the government and advertisers watching us.
This is what I think of whenever I'm tempted to start using my phone for non-communication things (like using apps for stuff).
Sure, I use it to call people - and text. However, since the only other function it has for me is that of personal digital phone book, I don't carry it everywhere I go.
If they used my data, they'd find I spend an inordinate amount of time in my kitchen... because that's where the charger is (and where I keep leaving it by accident).
Sure, I take it with me when I go out - sometimes. But a lot of the time, I don't. This is especially true when I'm ducking out of the house for something short - like meeting the school bus, taking the dog around the block, or running out to get milk/a prescription/ice cream/etc.
I'm sure there's stuff out there that I'm missing out on, but at least I'm not being well-tracked.
This is the fictitious scenario that plays out in my head-
Police: According to the phone data, you were home at that time.
Me: No. The phone data says my PHONE was home during that time. It's not glued to me, you know.
Shannon M. Howell at July 16, 2012 5:10 AM
> if you have someone after you who can intercept
> your CDMA radio link and is inclined to do so,
> you've got a lot worse problems than just this.
Den Beste
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at July 16, 2012 7:37 AM
The other thing you can do is leave the phone off unless you're
actually using it. That minimizes the traces it leaves. I realize
that this isn't possible for some people who need to be readily
available. If those people couple this with a pager, then that's a
possible solution.
Ron at July 16, 2012 7:49 AM
lol, location app:
http://xkcd.com/596/
I leave mine at home a lot, too. Mine is an older phone, it has a thing where you turn off the gps thingie. They turned it off when I first got my phone. It's only supposed to be able to tell where I am if I call 911.
nonegiven at July 16, 2012 8:34 AM
> it has a thing where you turn off the gps thingie.
The geolocation capabilities of a cell phone have nothing to do with gps technology, and have nothing to do with any "location" services of the phone... They're inherent to the cellular technology which allows you to talk to other people through your phone. The technology connects your phone to the local cell tower, whether you're making calls or not.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at July 16, 2012 8:52 AM
Ron's right that turning your phone off disconnects you from this tracing technology. But a cell phone that's turned off is, as a rule, no fun to own.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at July 16, 2012 8:54 AM
We could all make an effort to put a LOT of noise in the data. Give your phone to a toddler for 20 minutes at the park. Tell them to take it on a walk. :) Better yet, routinely switch phones w/ your sig other. Such fun.
Shannon M. Howell at July 16, 2012 9:20 AM
"Many police agencies don't obtain search warrants when requesting location data from carriers."
And the courts are allowing this? It amazes me how, in the space of a few years, we've gone from one extreme to the other. For decades, we had problems with courts throwing out evidence on the flimsiest of pretexts. Now, all of a sudden, we've got widespread warrantless searches, and courts are studiously looking the other way.
Cousin Dave at July 16, 2012 9:47 AM
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