5 ms·

Might it be Google Maps has the added feature of all your search history, your (real time) location and all those other privacy-sensitive data?

paganel 8y ago
One Saturday morning Apple Maps displayed a message on my locked phone’s display saying something like: “You’re XXX meters away from [coffee place]”, where [coffee place] is the location where I usually drink my coffees (especially during the weekend) and where I have never checked-in at or searched online. Meaning Apple is as privacy intrusive as Google and FB, but apparently they’rs still lagging in location search.
- jedieaston 8y ago
  You can disable that in the privacy settings on your iPhone though, and that data never leaves your iPhone according to Apple. Google doesn't make the same promise.
  - amelius 8y ago
    Stuff like this should always be opt-in, never opt-out.
    - colejohnson66 8y ago
      It is opt in. When you set up your phone for the first time or after a restore, it asks
      - taeric 8y ago
        I call that nag in nowadays. Pretty common, and sad to say very effective.
    - colechristensen 8y ago
      Opt-in to something that is only happening inside your device?
    - mygo 8y ago
      I'm not sure these are opt-out. I think they're opt in. I have the latest iPhone (well, it was the latest until this fall ) on the latest non-jailbroken firmware and have used an iPhone since the 5s. I go to coffee shops often. They're basically my second home. I also use the default Apple maps when navigating, and have location turned on for a few services, including find my iPhone. My phone definitely knows where I frequent. I recently moved cities and my iPhone recognizes my new "home" even though I never updated it. (it's where I sleep a lot, I guess). Still, I have never gotten these location-based alerts, nor have I ever opted out of them.
      - spockz 8y ago
        I think this is callled Location Based Alerts and based on Significant Locations: https://ibb.co/eBzOQf https://ibb.co/eBzOQf
- saagarjha 8y ago
  Apple keeps location logs, but AFAIK they never leave your device. These suggestions are made locally.
  - paganel 8y ago
    It certainly sent my geo-data outside of my phone where it was reversely geo-located to the name of the coffee shop, there’s no info on my phone alone matching the name of the coffee shop to its geo-location.
    - karmelapple 8y ago
      The location seems to have been sent out to do the geo location lookup, but do you think it also sent up that you’re there frequently, or anything else about your schedule?
      - paganel 8y ago
        So they do send data out.
        dcow 8y ago
        I’m not sure you’re familiar with how the internet works.
        paganel 8y ago
        I’m not sure I follow: a poster above said something like “Apple keeps all your geo-location data on your phone/device, no need to worry”, I followed up by saying that that’s highly unlikely, because somehow Apple was able to reverse geo-locate my coordinates into a POI, most probably by sending data out of my device, to their servers, your telling me “I don’t know how the Internet works” doesn’t enlighten me one bit. If it matters I can agree that I’m not the smartest bulb in the room when it comes to the latest web-dev stuff, it just happened that by chance I got to work on this geo and web stuff taken together for quite some time now, just a little before Google decided to publish their Maps API (that’s early 2006, if I’m not mistaken). I remember the glorious days of writing Python scripts that would help connect in real time an external GPS unit to a N60 Nokia phone so that the images taken with the phone would be mapped to geo-coordinates written on a file somewhere that will later be used to display those images on a map. Because back in those days phones didn’t have GPS capabilities built-in. I was also the person who built the first google maps mashup around these parts of the world (a pale replica of the Chicago crime website adapted to my home city, extracting addresses from plain-text police reports automatically was fun) and ever since then I have been obsessed with geo stuff and maps on the web. But, as I said, I’m not the brightest bulb so maybe I’m missing something about “how the internet works” and as such I’d be happy to learn more.
- denzil_correa 8y ago
  You can serve specific suggestions without violation of privacy.
- scarface74 8y ago
  The information never leaves your phone. Keeping where you go locally on your phone is no different privacy wise than keeping your text messages and your call history. But yes it can be disabled.
  - paganel 8y ago
    I’ve just replied to a similar comment above, I’m not sure that the “information never leaves my phone” is accurate as my phone was able to reversely geo-locate my geo coordinates to the name of the coffee shop. I’m not sure how it would do that without sending my geo-data to outside of it or without trying to match my geo-location to extracted keywords from my messages (which would open another big can of worms).
    - usaphp 8y ago
      Sending a data outside and keeping that data on the outside servers are two different things don’t you think? Apple might use a web api but they don’t store that data about you unlike google.
      - paganel 8y ago
        Once the data is outside of my device I have no control over it and I suspect that it is somehow stored on some server, yes.
        scarface74 8y ago
        https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207056 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207056
        DenisM 8y ago
        They could have first accumulate information about where you were and then make a location lookup later, this separatimg the visit from time. They could also make some decoy geo-location request. I dunno if they do, but if i was serious about it I would. Or maybe this being a frequent location for you they already cached the map tiles from that one time you opened the map while in the neighborhood. Or maybe they actually loaded all POIs in your home state at some point in the past. There aren’t that many out there.
- bestnameever 8y ago
  > Meaning Apple is as privacy intrusive as Google and FB From what I recall, Apple supposedly does not collect that data. https://www.cultofmac.com/522515/how-to-see-iphone-significant-locations-map/ https://www.cultofmac.com/522515/how-to-see-iphone-significa...
- lostlogin 8y ago
  Turning that off is non obvious too. I needed to when it got a bit deranged due to variable working hours and gave me travel times to the same location multiple times a day.

paganel 8y ago

One Saturday morning Apple Maps displayed a message on my locked phone’s display saying something like: “You’re XXX meters away from [coffee place]”, where [coffee place] is the location where I usually drink my coffees (especially during the weekend) and where I have never checked-in at or searched online. Meaning Apple is as privacy intrusive as Google and FB, but apparently they’rs still lagging in location search.

jedieaston 8y ago
You can disable that in the privacy settings on your iPhone though, and that data never leaves your iPhone according to Apple. Google doesn't make the same promise.
- amelius 8y ago
  Stuff like this should always be opt-in, never opt-out.
  - colejohnson66 8y ago
    It is opt in. When you set up your phone for the first time or after a restore, it asks
    - taeric 8y ago
      I call that nag in nowadays. Pretty common, and sad to say very effective.
  - colechristensen 8y ago
    Opt-in to something that is only happening inside your device?
  - mygo 8y ago
    I'm not sure these are opt-out. I think they're opt in. I have the latest iPhone (well, it was the latest until this fall ) on the latest non-jailbroken firmware and have used an iPhone since the 5s. I go to coffee shops often. They're basically my second home. I also use the default Apple maps when navigating, and have location turned on for a few services, including find my iPhone. My phone definitely knows where I frequent. I recently moved cities and my iPhone recognizes my new "home" even though I never updated it. (it's where I sleep a lot, I guess). Still, I have never gotten these location-based alerts, nor have I ever opted out of them.
    - spockz 8y ago
      I think this is callled Location Based Alerts and based on Significant Locations: https://ibb.co/eBzOQf https://ibb.co/eBzOQf
saagarjha 8y ago
Apple keeps location logs, but AFAIK they never leave your device. These suggestions are made locally.
- paganel 8y ago
  It certainly sent my geo-data outside of my phone where it was reversely geo-located to the name of the coffee shop, there’s no info on my phone alone matching the name of the coffee shop to its geo-location.
  - karmelapple 8y ago
    The location seems to have been sent out to do the geo location lookup, but do you think it also sent up that you’re there frequently, or anything else about your schedule?
    - paganel 8y ago
      So they do send data out.
      - dcow 8y ago
        I’m not sure you’re familiar with how the internet works.
        paganel 8y ago
        I’m not sure I follow: a poster above said something like “Apple keeps all your geo-location data on your phone/device, no need to worry”, I followed up by saying that that’s highly unlikely, because somehow Apple was able to reverse geo-locate my coordinates into a POI, most probably by sending data out of my device, to their servers, your telling me “I don’t know how the Internet works” doesn’t enlighten me one bit. If it matters I can agree that I’m not the smartest bulb in the room when it comes to the latest web-dev stuff, it just happened that by chance I got to work on this geo and web stuff taken together for quite some time now, just a little before Google decided to publish their Maps API (that’s early 2006, if I’m not mistaken). I remember the glorious days of writing Python scripts that would help connect in real time an external GPS unit to a N60 Nokia phone so that the images taken with the phone would be mapped to geo-coordinates written on a file somewhere that will later be used to display those images on a map. Because back in those days phones didn’t have GPS capabilities built-in. I was also the person who built the first google maps mashup around these parts of the world (a pale replica of the Chicago crime website adapted to my home city, extracting addresses from plain-text police reports automatically was fun) and ever since then I have been obsessed with geo stuff and maps on the web. But, as I said, I’m not the brightest bulb so maybe I’m missing something about “how the internet works” and as such I’d be happy to learn more.
denzil_correa 8y ago
You can serve specific suggestions without violation of privacy.
scarface74 8y ago
The information never leaves your phone. Keeping where you go locally on your phone is no different privacy wise than keeping your text messages and your call history. But yes it can be disabled.
- paganel 8y ago
  I’ve just replied to a similar comment above, I’m not sure that the “information never leaves my phone” is accurate as my phone was able to reversely geo-locate my geo coordinates to the name of the coffee shop. I’m not sure how it would do that without sending my geo-data to outside of it or without trying to match my geo-location to extracted keywords from my messages (which would open another big can of worms).
  - usaphp 8y ago
    Sending a data outside and keeping that data on the outside servers are two different things don’t you think? Apple might use a web api but they don’t store that data about you unlike google.
    - paganel 8y ago
      Once the data is outside of my device I have no control over it and I suspect that it is somehow stored on some server, yes.
      - scarface74 8y ago
        https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207056 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207056
      - DenisM 8y ago
        They could have first accumulate information about where you were and then make a location lookup later, this separatimg the visit from time. They could also make some decoy geo-location request. I dunno if they do, but if i was serious about it I would. Or maybe this being a frequent location for you they already cached the map tiles from that one time you opened the map while in the neighborhood. Or maybe they actually loaded all POIs in your home state at some point in the past. There aren’t that many out there.
bestnameever 8y ago
> Meaning Apple is as privacy intrusive as Google and FB From what I recall, Apple supposedly does not collect that data. https://www.cultofmac.com/522515/how-to-see-iphone-significant-locations-map/ https://www.cultofmac.com/522515/how-to-see-iphone-significa...
lostlogin 8y ago
Turning that off is non obvious too. I needed to when it got a bit deranged due to variable working hours and gave me travel times to the same location multiple times a day.