• SuckMyWang@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It will go to a 3rd party like meta first and then not be stored at google. That way google can’t turn that info over to the police

    • moistclump@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      And I’ll believe it when I see executives be punished personally for lying. If they are lying. Which hopefully they aren’t.

    • TCB13@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I guess the catch is the fact that they don’t really need it. They have real time location from any Android device anyways (because of that feature that sends the lists of wifi networks around you from time to time), no need to storage the timeline on their servers, it’s only duplicate data. lol

        • Duranie@literature.cafe
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          1 year ago

          I use it to make documentation easier for work. I have to log visit times, travel time and mileage for each patient I visit. So much easier to pull up the info of my phone after work than to remember to track miles and log time getting in and out of my car.

          • Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I refuse to believe this isn’t a problem easily solved by a separate app. Perhaps one that even logs to your device only for some additional security.

            • Duranie@literature.cafe
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              1 year ago

              Well, there is a “solution” in the works. It’s currently not required for my position and will only initially apply to Medicare (or Medicaid - don’t recall which) patients.

              The hospital provides field staff with cell phones. There’s an app we’re just getting training on that will time stamp our visits, travel, and mileage, as well as track GPS for verification of visits. It will also flag and ask for clarification if travel time exceeds expectation.

              Currently we self report, so if I stop at McDonald’s because I have to pee, it’s nobodies business. Many of my coworkers are less than thrilled with the new app (honestly most aren’t that fond of tech or changes to begin with) even though management is attempting to reassure that they’re really not intending to track us, it’s just for patient verification (for the very small percentage of patients it applies to.)

        • korfuri@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          As much as I’m careful about Google keeping my data, I have to recognize that this has helped a friend tremendously. He was separated from his ex, she had left with their daughter, and he was trying to get split custody. She testified he was a deadbeat dad, and she put it in writing that he had never been to pick up their daughter at school, never taken her to her regular weekend club activities, etc.

          He reached out to me asking if his location history could help prove she was full of shit. It took me an hour or so to figure out the right way to process the data, but then I was able to give him a detailed list of dates and times he had been to his daughter’s school, poney club, etc. His lawyer attached that to their rebuttal. I like to think it made a significant difference. He did get joint custody in the end.

      • CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Seems unlikely, GPS data is far more accurate and lots of security minded m people turn off WiFi when away from home but still need gps when out and about

      • lemming741@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Also Bluetooth scanning. Google trys to dark pattern you in to re-enabling them both, but maps will eventually use GPS if you cancel and try again.

        • TCB13@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Even Apple is now doing that thing where they’ll re-enable both after a while.

    • EarthlingHazard@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      From your desktop browser? Probably. You’ll still be able to use timeline from your phone though since the data is still being stored locally

    • silentknyght@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s believable. If 25% of the warrants they receive are for location data, there is a shed load of money to be saved by simply not storing it.

      Probably simple math, whether or not the stored location data is more valuable than the cost of legal compliance.

  • Ethalia@feddit.ch
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    1 year ago

    When big tech says they no longer need something, it means they have something even better. When they say they give you options, they mean dark patterns. Anytime you click ‘Decline’ it might as well be ‘Accept all’. Rapist mentality of big corpos.

  • AlecSadler@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Personally, I use GPSLogger from FDroid on a 15 minute ping interval and then load the files into Location Map Viewer (also FDroid) for my own location tracking. Disabled Google awhile ago.

    I back the files up to a home NAS.

      • cannache@slrpnk.net
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        1 year ago

        If you have ever lost something and had to retrace your steps it helps but I guess it’s not super important or relatable for most people

      • phobiac@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’ve used my location history to remember names of places I went to over a year ago, addresses I was given and expected to write down but forgot, confirm for myself I actually went and did something that I couldn’t recall fully…

        It’s great for someone with a shite memory.

      • worldsayshi@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s nice to have a sort of diary sometimes. My only practical application has been to sometimes check which times I arrive to and leave from work when I need to report my hours.

      • AlecSadler@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Looks like most of the existing replies captured my same use cases!

        There have also been a couple of times where my wife and I disagreed about what we did on X day and it’s kind of nice to see who is right 😂

        I think I also just like the raw data. I also keep spreadsheets of my utility bills over time, for example, because it’s weirdly fun to look back and see or compare.

        One thing I’d really love is a self-hosted all-day heart rate tracker, but have yet to stumble on such a thing.

  • epyon22
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    1 year ago

    Curious on the implementation. For example apps like signal and WhatsApp require you to either move or lose your data when you get a new phone. This will have to be the way Google implements or they are storing it somewhere on their servers.

    • ArbiterXero@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The aren’t storing it actively in something you can search at all times, but it’ll be in the “backups” and “restore” pieces still

    • jasondj@ttrpg.network
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      1 year ago

      It’s not that simple. The user has to hold the key. And with cloud you want it to all be accessible from all of a users devices. And with a public service you can’t count on the user to be savvy enough to use their certificates.

      Of course the fix to that is that the key is stored in the account.

      But then Google has the key and can decrypt it.

      So then the key itself has to be encrypted. And with what? The users weak ass-password?

      All encryption has to begin with something that’s known, and the weaker that initial secret, the weaker the entire system below it.