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The current link is to the press release for a paper. Link to the paper: https://www.expressvpn.com/digital-security-lab/investigation-xoth https://www.expressv

The current link is to the press release for a paper. Link to the paper: https://www.expressvpn.com/digital-security-lab/investigation-xoth https://www.expressvpn.com/digital-security-lab/investigatio... E: The vice article [1] on this paper brings one aspect into focus: At least five more Muslim prayer or similar apps worked with data broker X-Mode, which has sold location data to military contractors and by extension U.S. military intelligence, according to multiple technical analyses. 1: https://www.vice.com/en/article/epdkze/muslim-apps-location-data-military-xmode https://www.vice.com/en/article/epdkze/muslim-apps-location-...

high_5 6y ago
It's ridiculous we're trying to prevent three letter agencies to track us directly, but we then install all sorts of apps that could get the same information via apps from some 3rd party shell companies set up or funded by those agencies.
- cle 6y ago
  Perhaps it's not the tracking itself that we care about, but control over when it occurs and by whom.
  - ballenf 6y ago
    Control over it? Good luck figuring out which apps track you much less controlling when. The trackers can change or be enabled programmatically and silently. And VPN is getting more and more worthless. I have to turn it off for more and more apps to function at all.
    - cle 6y ago
      I'd argue that it's the feeling of control that most people want, not necessarily the control itself. Perhaps a kind of "reactance".
devindotcom 6y ago
We dilated on the x-mode piece of this if anyone feels like drilling down a step: https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/28/x-mode-location-google-apple-ban/ https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/28/x-mode-location-google-app...
dang 6y ago
OK, we've changed to that from https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/digital-security-lab-location-trackers-smartphone-apps-research/ https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/digital-security-lab-locatio.... Thanks!

high_5 6y ago

It's ridiculous we're trying to prevent three letter agencies to track us directly, but we then install all sorts of apps that could get the same information via apps from some 3rd party shell companies set up or funded by those agencies.

cle 6y ago
Perhaps it's not the tracking itself that we care about, but control over when it occurs and by whom.
- ballenf 6y ago
  Control over it? Good luck figuring out which apps track you much less controlling when. The trackers can change or be enabled programmatically and silently. And VPN is getting more and more worthless. I have to turn it off for more and more apps to function at all.
  - cle 6y ago
    I'd argue that it's the feeling of control that most people want, not necessarily the control itself. Perhaps a kind of "reactance".

devindotcom 6y ago

We dilated on the x-mode piece of this if anyone feels like drilling down a step: https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/28/x-mode-location-google-apple-ban/ https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/28/x-mode-location-google-app...

dang 6y ago

OK, we've changed to that from https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/digital-security-lab-location-trackers-smartphone-apps-research/ https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/digital-security-lab-locatio.... Thanks!