GDPR

[TransAmDan]

Looks like it's been pushed to iPhones and android. It appears to be off by default.

?Did you know;
Tracking for COVID-19 was added to your mobile phone?

So! when everyone was having "phone disruptions" earlier this week, they were adding COVID-19 Trackers to our phones. ..if you have an Android phone, go under Settings, then GOOGLE settings and it's there.. If you have an IPhone, go to settings, privacy then health. ...

Looks like you have to download another app to get it working. However it looks like it's been supported in the OS if you choose to use it.

 

[AmericanThunder]

Yes, the support is there but as you say requires an app to use. On the iPhone you can see when your exposure is checked. Mine is currently at zero.
I will be watching that very closely.

 

[an88fiero]

And I don’t even have that ........

 

[saleen 192]

Your phone now has a coronavirus tracker software even if you didn't install it

It's in your phone settings but many users may not have noticed it yet

www.walesonline.co.uk

 

[AmericanThunder]

Typical sensationalist headlines even though the truth is in the body.

“ is not an app itself—it’s an underlying technology developed by Apple and Google that allows coronavirus tracking apps made by public health bodies to work across devices. “

 

[an88fiero]

Media scaremongering again ..........

 

[TransAmDan]

The media are a**holes. Trouble is the same people that believe what the papers say also believe everything on Facebook. Really you need to approach everything with disbelief until proven. Mainstream media stear people into believing what they want people to believe.

 

[AmericanThunder]

The media are a**holes. Mainstream media stear people into believing what they want people to believe.

No disagreement from me. It frightens and annoys me how gullible people can be.

 

[Will]

Yup! Have just checked and it's on our Android phones. But as you say, it appears to be off at the moment.
So, can we assume it might be remotely turned on at some point? If our permission will be required to turn it on, I can't see the point in them secretly installing it.

 

[AmericanThunder]

What has been installed is support for the app. Without an app it won’t do anything except respond to requests for logged contacts. Without an app you won’t have any. At this point in time, the use of an app is voluntary but that will change. When it does, details of your movements and your contacts will cease to be personal.
Whilst the first threat was from an app that didn’t include security of your data and was inherently insecure by design, the subsequent threat is now from how your movements will be tracked, effectively surveillance state.

 

[Will]

So, is what they have installed so far meaningless without the app? If so, it seems logical to me that their next step will be to forcibly install the app too...and enable it. Otherwise why install the support part.
I had said that I was in favour of an app as a method of helping to control Covid 19, even if that entails monitoring my movements. I may be wrong but I feel sure that must be possible already, so that doesn't really worry me. But it depends what else they might use that information for. I must confess to being a little angered that something has been installed on my phone without my knowledge or permission.

 

[TransAmDan]

I can see we will all be going back to Nokia6310's like drug dealers so we can't be tracked.

 

[AmericanThunder]

I can see we will all be going back to Nokia6310's like drug dealers so we can't be tracked.

I am very close. I have already looked at non-smart phones with a view to disconnecting.

 

[AmericanThunder]

even if that entails monitoring my movements. I may be wrong but I feel sure that must be possible already, so that doesn't really worry me.

For clarity. Yes you can be tracked by the movements of your mobile phone. Your phone attaches to a mast for signal and by triangulation between masts you be can located. It can also be used for tracking you as you move across the country/globe. However, this data is subject to GDPR and requires a court order to get. It does not reveal contacts or identify and other data. Message and emails are likewise. It requires legal authority.
The COVID-19 app allows access to information by the developer, the NHS, the WHO and just about anyone else with a ‘legitimate’ case for needing it. As the data they collect contains very individual identifying data the storage of that data needs to be secure and it’s access restricted. This is my concern about the whole thing.
So can you be tracked by your mobile phone alone? Yes, but only where circumstances allow.
Can you tracked, identified and have far more personal data exposed by the app? Yes.

The installation of the ability for your phone to be tracked could be considered a breach of privacy. However, It does nothing more on its own that the standard iPhone functionality of “find my friend/device”. I’m sure Android has similar.
The danger is when the app is forced on to you and it’s usage is non-optional.

 

[renchero]

Nokia6310

my mum still uses one of these she will only switch it on to make a call them she switches it off again. as i don't use the internet on my phone i think the next one wont have it

 

[Will]

For clarity. Yes you can be tracked by the movements of your mobile phone. Your phone attaches to a mast for signal and by triangulation between masts you be can located. It can also be used for tracking you as you move across the country/globe. However, this data is subject to GDPR and requires a court order to get. It does not reveal contacts or identify and other data. Message and emails are likewise. It requires legal authority.
The COVID-19 app allows access to information by the developer, the NHS, the WHO and just about anyone else with a ‘legitimate’ case for needing it. As the data they collect contains very individual identifying data the storage of that data needs to be secure and it’s access restricted. This is my concern about the whole thing.
So can you be tracked by your mobile phone alone? Yes, but only where circumstances allow.
Can you tracked, identified and have far more personal data exposed by the app? Yes.

The installation of the ability for your phone to be tracked could be considered a breach of privacy. However, It does nothing more on its own that the standard iPhone functionality of “find my friend/device”. I’m sure Android has similar.
The danger is when the app is forced on to you and it’s usage is non-optional.

Thanks for the explanation and clarification. Sure, I knew it was possible to track a mobile phone's location. Actually, I've always thought the cellular network to be quite clever. Our phones need to be periodically checking in with the nearest cellular towers so the network knows which one to call us on. And as you say, it can be used to pinpoint us by triangulation. But I was wondering more about the content such as our text messages and mobile internet data?
But I agree, particularly since the reality of this recent forced download, the collected data falling to the wrong hands is a potential worry. I'll be surprised if there isn't public anger over this.

 

[AmericanThunder]

But I agree, particularly since the reality of this recent forced download, the collected data falling to the wrong hands is a potential worry. I'll be surprised if there isn't public anger over this.

Unfortunately the media don’t cover it. Ever wonder why? I thought state control over the media was restricted to North Korea, China and Russia - wonder how wrong I am?
Unfortunately the media is exploited by the political parties to their own ends frequently and by far the biggest perpetrator is Facebook. Some time back, on this very forum, I linked to a chap who was trying to expose all this.

 

[Will]

Unfortunately the media don’t cover it. Ever wonder why? I thought state control over the media was restricted to North Korea, China and Russia - wonder how wrong I am?
Unfortunately the media is exploited by the political parties to their own ends frequently and by far the biggest perpetrator is Facebook. Some time back, on this very forum, I linked to a chap who was trying to expose all this.

Looks like the media have covered it. I am relieved to have found this actually, it makes it seem a little less cloak and dagger than some of us might fear.

Coronavirus: New Covid-19 tracing tool appears on smartphones

The new "exposure notification" tool is part of an update to iPhone and Android operating systems.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[AmericanThunder]

The media have covered nothing more in that article than I did. What they haven’t covered is the what’s next. The enforced use of an app using what’s already been deployed.

 

[Will]

The media have covered nothing more in that article than I did. What they haven’t covered is the what’s next. The enforced use of an app using what’s already been deployed.

No, all true enough. And I've not heard anything about it on the TV or radio. That would be the level of exposure that could spark a protest...but I doubt we will!