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This brings up an issue I wish iOS and Android would solve. Location data is always very specific, as accurate as GPS or Cellular triangulation can offer (down
by BluSyn 7y ago
This brings up an issue I wish iOS and Android would solve. Location data is always very specific, as accurate as GPS or Cellular triangulation can offer (down to the centimeter in some cases). However the vast majority of use-cases don't need this level of precision. Maybe Maps for accurate directions require this, but rarely anything else. In this case the OS simply needs to know what country you are in, not what street corner you are on.
Why can't apps request less precise location data, and maybe let the user choose this? Another common example is Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even dating apps, don't need to know your location with precision, they usually just want the city or zip code with relative accuracy. My Weather app doesn't need to know what rock I'm standing next to for accurate forecasting.
- jiqiren 7y agoiOS apps definitely do have this granular option. It's been around since iOS 2 SDK. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corelocation/cllocationmanager/1423836-desiredaccuracy https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corelocation/clloc...
- sefrost 7y agoI wish we could do this on web, and see what location data we were going to send if we granted the permission.
- rootusrootus 7y agoYeah I have wanted this option since the beginning. Precise location, no, but want to provide just my zip code or city or state? Maybe I'll actually say yes.
- crazygringo 7y agoVery interesting. But when an app requests location permissions, it's still the same message right? There's no way of knowing whether the app will be using your exact location, or just the city you're in?
- dkonofalski 7y agoCorrect. Room for improvement would be giving users the option to see this and select/approve it.
- bonestamp2 7y agoI'd also want the option to choose any location as the location my phone sends to that app. I'd give each app a different city near me (when precision isn't that important) just to add more noise to my precise location.
- culturestate 7y agoAs someone who jealously guards their personal data, I agree with you. As a product manager/designer, I think that would end in disaster for any consumer-facing company that implemented it. The number of people who would enter random places, forget they did so, and then complain that their phone is broken or the app doesn't work would be staggering.
- fulafel 7y agoAndroid has supported this for ages, just not customized per app. they put it under dev options, i guesd to mitigate the demented user problem.
- TrentLarr 7y agoWindows 10 makes this distinction. It's a logical one, for sure.
- nerdponx 7y agoCorrect, and you can't restrict permissions either. If an app requests precise location, you should have the option to say "no thanks, you're getting the center of my postal code instead".
- wyattpeak 7y ago
- BluSyn 7y agoIn that case it should inform the user about the accuracy of the location request.
- weaksauce 7y agoThe apps can request less precise location data. up to three km https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corelocation/cllocationaccuracy https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corelocation/clloc...
- autoexec 7y agoBut if you're spying on the users of your app why would you limit the value of the data you're collecting? It'd be better to put that in the control of the user being exploited and not the app doing the spying
- snuxoll 7y agoApplications that don’t need accurate location benefit by getting faster results and less battery drain (if the system last got a location 5 minutes ago it’s safe to say you are in the same city, so you can just get a cached result). It’s not really there for privacy, since even the city you are in is a lot of data to go on privacy-wise.
- saagarjha 7y agoSadly, I don’t think most applications care much about limiting battery drain…
- sk0g 7y agoIs the location randomised? Over lots of data points, your precise location could still be pinpointed, I'd imagine.
- NoPicklez 7y agoI don't think Apple are requesting a lot of information as this article suggests right? It's just clearing the air as to why it needs to check for location when all manual toggles are switched off. Even if it only asked for the country, the location icon would still appear. How do you know that applications are requesting for more location data that others, just curious?
- JustSomeNobody 7y ago> My Weather app doesn't need to know what rock I'm standing next to for accurate forecasting. Zip code is plenty, but they all seem to think they need gps.
- lern_too_spel 7y agoThis has been possible on Android since launch. https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission.html#ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.per...