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Originally Posted by racer_ash Simple case of opposition for the sake of it. If location based apps could be used to track movement by spies, then what about apps like Google, FB etc. which have been tracking movements from ages and even monetize the data by sharing with external agencies for relevant ads?
There are no privacy concerns there, but an app used for our own safety! No sir! We are worried about our privacy. |
The main difference as others have also mentioned is the element of CHOICE.
Many people make an effort to avoid using FB and other social networks to avoid unnecessarily having everything they do, logged by an app whose sole aim is to harvest your data for information.
In cases where there is a tangible benefit of parting with that information(e.g. Google Maps or Uber), the user is still in control regarding the duration of that interaction and it is not an ongoing process.
Even if you consider that most users do not bother about this, the information is hardly free for all and is bound by stringent privacy laws across geographies. The organizations have taken up past lapses(e.g. Cambridge Analytica FB fiasco) in their stride and made things more transparent.
P.S. I invite everyone here to go through their
"Off-Facebook Activity" and let me know if you are OK with it.
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Originally Posted by racer_ash I can still turn off the location even after I install the app. Also, if I am at home always, what tracking is being done? The govt. already knows where I live via aadhaar, passport etc.? |
Not necessarily.
The app is designed to "wake" up the Bluetooth connection after specific intervals. I am not sure if it is also true for GPS but if/when the E-Pass feature is made more overarching, it is reasonable to assume that you will not have an option to switch off the location parameters and as another member mentioned, it is possible this can be termed illegal as well.
Govt. knows where your permanent address is but though this, it knows where you are at all times.
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Originally Posted by Cyborg Different perspective on the so called “privacy issues” which everyone harps upon nowadays.
Pray, tell me, if you are a normal law abiding citizen why on earth are you so concerned if you can be tracked going shopping for your daily needs or going for a movie or your bank. Is it a state secret or something? Why does everyone need to be so protective of their whereabouts? |
Would you be fine with your employer knowing where you spend your time after work as long as you an attest to that fact that you were not doing anything that would've violated the terms of your employment?
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Originally Posted by Cyborg You think any government is so bothered about what you do, if you are above board and not doing anything illegal they won’t even bother with you.
This app or any other which can track a person may be used by governments to track activities of suspect people and help society to a large extent. What is wrong with that?
It’s the people who do wrong/illegal activities who should be concerned not normal people. |
There are two issues that can affect a law abiding citizen.
1)
By gathering large datasets, it is easy to group and track behavior patterns. E.g. You are providing your age in the app. It is easy to assess how many people in the age range between 28-35 are visiting shopping malls.
Now this is not harmful and may even be userful in formulating targetted policies that may benefit everyone but judging by past experiences(e.g.
Government clears policy to sell vehicle registration data
) its more likely that information might be misused.
2)
You are a law abiding citizen. You disagree with any policy and decide to join a sitting protest at some xyz location.
The authorities have been using facial recognition software to track people visiting these protests. Now this location data can be another tool-in their arsenal.
This may be difficult to empathize with but we never know when we may find ourselves on the other side of the river.
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Originally Posted by Turbanator Government already knows everything via Adhaar, Banks etc. How does it matter, if they know what all I am doing and where all I am going? If I am not mistaken, they can always pull our location or even call recordings/ records from the telecom companies.
How much is the usefulness of this App, remains to be seen. Like, I can see how many people are infected in the range but not on map or any more details. Maybe Government has done this from the contact tracing point of view more than anything else. |
All major social networks publish yearly transparency reports where they reveal how many data gathering requests were made by different governments across the globe. The bottom line is that the authorities usually had to have a court order to pull this data. Now they probably wont.
If you look at the privacy policy published for the app., the vendor has absolved themselves from any liabilities arising out of a false(+ve or -ve) risk assessment done by the app so make what you want from that in terms of the usefulness of the app.
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Originally Posted by m8002? The road to hell is always paved with good intentions. Today they use it to track you based on covid status. Tomorrow it could be used to divide based on your party affiliation, religion, economic status, whatever. |
In the end, everyone has personal thresholds on what they deem to be a violation of privacy.