6 ms·

Google really needs to release a dedicated "Crime Mode" so we don't need to keep using this airplane mode workaround.

ChuckMcM 7y ago
$9.99 a month "identity masking", lets you run your android device in stealth mode. (I'm being sarcastic of course). One of my SDR projects was to boot a GSM base station if my burglar alarm went off and store copies of every IMEI it can see in the cloud. Seems like it would be a better lead to hand investigators than a fuzzy security camera shot.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- TuringNYC 7y ago
  And investigators probably would not care — consider how many identity theft cases have the ID thief on camera (in my case, at a hardware store opening up a line of credit in sight of store cameras, and later using a cloned card at an ATM machine, surely in view of an ATM camera.)...yet despite thousands stolen in ID theft cases, there is hardly ever any action taken.
  - ChuckMcM 7y ago
    My thought would be they could track the phone of the person, who would probably still have it on them, and using that and a fuzzy security camera image have enough evidence to arrest them at least.
- davinic 7y ago
  It's a great idea but is it legal to operate a personal Stingray?
  - ChuckMcM 7y ago
    Yes! Well let me be a bit more clear. The FCC has a process for, and indicated they would likely approve, a special temporary operating license for such a device given that it would only operate for a short time (during the break-in) and not interfere with the thieve's or neighbor's cell phones as it would respond with no compatible roaming network. Also it wouldn't do any sort of interception or monitoring other than the tower ping. It would also need permission from the licensed spectrum holder, that could be harder to get. But yes, completely legit with the right paperwork.
    - davinic 7y ago
      Wow, I'm a bit surprised by that. Thank you for answering.
      - ChuckMcM 7y ago
        I was a little as well, I happened to be at an SDR conference and one of the attendees was a lawyer working with the FCC on licensing issues[1]. I gave him my use case and he said that if it was constrained the way I said it would be, then if it came through their office they would likely approve it. [1] The FCC has been pretty engaged in understanding the impacts of SDRs because of their potential for abuse (as one attendee called it, "The Drones of spectrum." As an amateur (AI6ZR) and someone in industry I've been helping as an SME to explain some of this stuff to their less technical staff.
bitL 7y ago
The whole "jailbreaking the phone" business gets suddenly a completely new meaning...
umvi 7y ago
I can see the mental gymnastics now: "Criminals deserve just as much privacy and safety as anyone else. If the government violates the criminal's rights to solve, prevent, or preempt crimes, even more crimes have occurred (privacy violations, killing of the criminal, etc.) There should be explicit modes for phones and browsers available to criminals that allow them to safely commit crimes without risk of their rights being infringed upon."
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- henryfjordan 7y ago
  I know you were being facetious, but a mode somewhere in between "track me" (data enabled) and "remove my phone from the network" (airplane mode) would be nice. Maybe "for the next hour, don't do the normal location-tracking/biometrics monitoring/reporting". I get that Google has no incentive to make that feature but maybe Apple does?
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- robk 7y ago
  That sounds plausible in the UK
- kaybe 7y ago
  Well, who defines what a crime is? The problem starts there, I'd say.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  Basically every normal adult commits at least misdemeanors daily (in the sense that a bored cop could stick you with one and an aggressive prosecutor could nail you for it if you didn't get a decent lawyer) crimes all the time. Trying to make a black and white distinction between criminals and everyone else is futile.
munk-a 7y ago
I feel like, as soon as you enabled this feature, your phone would start broadcasting more. I suppose we can sorta thank the FEC for their crazy broadcast device requirements when it comes to suspecting whether airplane mode actually stops a device from dialing home.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
coding123 7y ago
They can't call it that. But they can call it... Incognito. Plus then you can just tell the cops: "i was watching xhamster all night.. see my phone was in porn mode (you know incognito is called porn mode)"

$9.99 a month "identity masking", lets you run your android device in stealth mode. (I'm being sarcastic of course). One of my SDR projects was to boot a GSM base station if my burglar alarm went off and store copies of every IMEI it can see in the cloud. Seems like it would be a better lead to hand investigators than a fuzzy security camera shot.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
TuringNYC 7y ago
And investigators probably would not care — consider how many identity theft cases have the ID thief on camera (in my case, at a hardware store opening up a line of credit in sight of store cameras, and later using a cloned card at an ATM machine, surely in view of an ATM camera.)...yet despite thousands stolen in ID theft cases, there is hardly ever any action taken.
- ChuckMcM 7y ago
  My thought would be they could track the phone of the person, who would probably still have it on them, and using that and a fuzzy security camera image have enough evidence to arrest them at least.
davinic 7y ago
It's a great idea but is it legal to operate a personal Stingray?
- ChuckMcM 7y ago
  Yes! Well let me be a bit more clear. The FCC has a process for, and indicated they would likely approve, a special temporary operating license for such a device given that it would only operate for a short time (during the break-in) and not interfere with the thieve's or neighbor's cell phones as it would respond with no compatible roaming network. Also it wouldn't do any sort of interception or monitoring other than the tower ping. It would also need permission from the licensed spectrum holder, that could be harder to get. But yes, completely legit with the right paperwork.
  - davinic 7y ago
    Wow, I'm a bit surprised by that. Thank you for answering.
    - ChuckMcM 7y ago
      I was a little as well, I happened to be at an SDR conference and one of the attendees was a lawyer working with the FCC on licensing issues[1]. I gave him my use case and he said that if it was constrained the way I said it would be, then if it came through their office they would likely approve it. [1] The FCC has been pretty engaged in understanding the impacts of SDRs because of their potential for abuse (as one attendee called it, "The Drones of spectrum." As an amateur (AI6ZR) and someone in industry I've been helping as an SME to explain some of this stuff to their less technical staff.

bitL 7y ago

The whole "jailbreaking the phone" business gets suddenly a completely new meaning...

umvi 7y ago

I can see the mental gymnastics now: "Criminals deserve just as much privacy and safety as anyone else. If the government violates the criminal's rights to solve, prevent, or preempt crimes, even more crimes have occurred (privacy violations, killing of the criminal, etc.) There should be explicit modes for phones and browsers available to criminals that allow them to safely commit crimes without risk of their rights being infringed upon."

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
henryfjordan 7y ago
I know you were being facetious, but a mode somewhere in between "track me" (data enabled) and "remove my phone from the network" (airplane mode) would be nice. Maybe "for the next hour, don't do the normal location-tracking/biometrics monitoring/reporting". I get that Google has no incentive to make that feature but maybe Apple does?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
robk 7y ago
That sounds plausible in the UK
kaybe 7y ago
Well, who defines what a crime is? The problem starts there, I'd say.
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
Basically every normal adult commits at least misdemeanors daily (in the sense that a bored cop could stick you with one and an aggressive prosecutor could nail you for it if you didn't get a decent lawyer) crimes all the time. Trying to make a black and white distinction between criminals and everyone else is futile.

munk-a 7y ago

I feel like, as soon as you enabled this feature, your phone would start broadcasting more. I suppose we can sorta thank the FEC for their crazy broadcast device requirements when it comes to suspecting whether airplane mode actually stops a device from dialing home.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

coding123 7y ago

They can't call it that. But they can call it... Incognito. Plus then you can just tell the cops: "i was watching xhamster all night.. see my phone was in porn mode (you know incognito is called porn mode)"