6 ms·

> I’ve been staying on iOS 13 to avoid the contact tracing Huh? You know it's an opt-in feature, right?

by mshroyer 6y ago

shhsshs 6y ago
And that it is done using an ostensibly secure/traceless/anonymous algorithm so I’m not sure why it would matter.
- prh8 6y ago
  Well a lot of people care more about absolutism for "privacy" more than pragmatism. Quote marks since just having a cell phone is already sharing more than those anonymous tokens.
  - skinnymuch 6y ago
    Not just a cell phone. But having a cell phone from the very company they fear is doing illegitimate things.
- conradev 6y ago
  Yes, it is functionally equivalent to having Bluetooth enabled. When Bluetooth is on, your iPhone broadcasts itself with a rotating random MAC address (a feature now called Bluetooth LE Privacy). It rotates at a fixed interval, something like every 5 minutes. With contact tracing enabled, your phone broadcasts another random identifier, and that identifier rotates at the same interval as your MAC address. The random identifier is actually cyphertext, and the key to decrypt it is stored on your phone. I think it should have been turned on by default if Bluetooth is turned on by default, but people would have complained very loudly.
  - gruez 6y ago
    >When Bluetooth is on, your iPhone broadcasts itself with a rotating random MAC address (a feature now called Bluetooth LE Privacy). It rotates at a fixed interval, something like every 5 minutes. Isn't this only when the iPhone is "discoverable", which is pretty much never the case unless you have bluetooth settings open?
    - SwaraLink 6y ago
      No, iOS devices enable Bluetooth Low Energy advertising pretty much the entire time that Bluetooth is on. This is used for features such as handover and Airdrop (and now for contact tracing, if enabled).
- yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
  Lots of things were supposed to be anonymous/secure, right up until it turned out that they weren't. Maybe this time is different, but I can understand a reasonable person being extremely skeptical of a system that is literally designed to track the people you're around, no matter what great promises are made about it.
generalizations 6y ago
I kinda wonder whether it will continue to be opt-in. If COVID sticks around for another year, it may be that a harder stance is taken on monitoring transmission.
- jrochkind1 6y ago
  Is there some service we can ask us to email us in a year with the URL of your comment then? I'd be shocked if it doesn't remain opt-in, for all sorts of reasons.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

> I’ve been staying on iOS 13 to avoid the contact tracing Huh? You know it's an opt-in feature, right?

shhsshs 6y ago

And that it is done using an ostensibly secure/traceless/anonymous algorithm so I’m not sure why it would matter.

prh8 6y ago
Well a lot of people care more about absolutism for "privacy" more than pragmatism. Quote marks since just having a cell phone is already sharing more than those anonymous tokens.
- skinnymuch 6y ago
  Not just a cell phone. But having a cell phone from the very company they fear is doing illegitimate things.
conradev 6y ago
Yes, it is functionally equivalent to having Bluetooth enabled. When Bluetooth is on, your iPhone broadcasts itself with a rotating random MAC address (a feature now called Bluetooth LE Privacy). It rotates at a fixed interval, something like every 5 minutes. With contact tracing enabled, your phone broadcasts another random identifier, and that identifier rotates at the same interval as your MAC address. The random identifier is actually cyphertext, and the key to decrypt it is stored on your phone. I think it should have been turned on by default if Bluetooth is turned on by default, but people would have complained very loudly.
- gruez 6y ago
  >When Bluetooth is on, your iPhone broadcasts itself with a rotating random MAC address (a feature now called Bluetooth LE Privacy). It rotates at a fixed interval, something like every 5 minutes. Isn't this only when the iPhone is "discoverable", which is pretty much never the case unless you have bluetooth settings open?
  - SwaraLink 6y ago
    No, iOS devices enable Bluetooth Low Energy advertising pretty much the entire time that Bluetooth is on. This is used for features such as handover and Airdrop (and now for contact tracing, if enabled).
yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
Lots of things were supposed to be anonymous/secure, right up until it turned out that they weren't. Maybe this time is different, but I can understand a reasonable person being extremely skeptical of a system that is literally designed to track the people you're around, no matter what great promises are made about it.

generalizations 6y ago

I kinda wonder whether it will continue to be opt-in. If COVID sticks around for another year, it may be that a harder stance is taken on monitoring transmission.

jrochkind1 6y ago
Is there some service we can ask us to email us in a year with the URL of your comment then? I'd be shocked if it doesn't remain opt-in, for all sorts of reasons.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]