11 ms·

This looks to use the dev options to fake it, which I believe bypasses the geolocation apps (as I assume the mock location is used for testing apps if they are

by kop316 2y ago

This looks to use the dev options to fake it, which I believe bypasses the geolocation apps (as I assume the mock location is used for testing apps if they are in certain locations). That being said, I have tried this for banking apps, and they aren't fooled by it, so I am guessing Android passes on that this is a "mock" location, not a real one. Like you said, if you really want to fake it, probably a faraday cage/fake GPS would be necessary.

amonon 2y ago
Yes, this is the case. I cannot remember the details, but the OS makes applications aware that location mocking is turned on.
- Ambroos 2y ago
  You can just call .isMock() on the location object you receive: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/Location https://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/Loc... - without root that can't be bypassed.
- Teever 2y ago
  That's a pretty anti-user feature if you ask me. Especially for a device so personal as a smartphone. There needs to be legislation that prevents manufactures from overridinf the will of the user at the behest of app makers for devices like this.
  - newaccount74 2y ago
    Having a smartphone provide a hard to fake location is a pretty valuable feature. A lot of businesses depend on the fact that location data is hard to fake. Consider caller ID - legislators around the world are working on making it harder to spoof your identity, because there's so much fraud going on with fake caller IDs. It's the same with location. Being able to easily fake location would open the door to so many frauds...
    - dmichulke 2y ago
      So how do you stop Google or Samsung from using your location data without your consent? - Not using GPS? Not an option because you need it - Disabling permissions? Not possible for "system apps" - Having the 10% privacy aware people block location somehow (via rooted phone or different distribution)? That doesn't help the other 90%. IMO the only solution is to poison the data with fake locations. Are there other options I missed?
    - Teever 2y ago
      > A lot of businesses depend... Do I care? Like not to be glib but as an end user buying a phone for my personal uses, I dont care about their businesses and I loathe the idea that their business model requires such an anti feature to be widely deployed in personal devices such as smart phones. Tell you what. I have a business model that requires your personal location data. Be a dear and send it to me. And again, why do I care about caller ID. It's been trash for years. I just never answer calls and use diffetent platforms such as Signal to communicate with my friends. It may open the door to so many frauds, but it opens the door to so many more abuses. People will talk about these 'features' differently the first time a large genocidal action takes place that makes use of this data.
      - mindslight 2y ago
        I fully agree with where you're coming from, but you kind of veered off with that last sentence. In general I think the threats from fine-grained surveillance databases are a lot more nuanced and pernicious than genocide.
      - newaccount74 2y ago
        Ride hailing apps rely on the fact that both customers and drivers phones don't lie about their location. Mapping companies rely on the fact that their crowdsourced data is reliable. Emergency services rely on the fact that phones share accurate locations. Delivery companies require authentic location data from their agents. Apps that allow people to rent scooters or bicycles rely on non-fake location data. If you made it easy to provide fake location data, a lot of apps would suddenly have to deal with a whole new class of fraud. I just don't see how this would be a net beneficial change.
  - bongodongobob 2y ago
    I think it might be a legal requirement for emergency services. I used to work a lot with VoIP and each line was required to have an address associated with it.
    - Teever 2y ago
      I'm fine with that, provided that there's sufficient oversight to prevent abuse. What I'm not fine with is one large corporation who makes phones baking this feature in so that other companies that make apps can profit off it. That's two parties conspiring to fuck over their customers. That needs to be regulated.
  - ClassyJacket 2y ago
    Also: screenshots. Firefox won't allow me to screenshot a private window. It's my damn phone and I should be able to screenshot or record whatever the hell I want.
    - didsomeonesay 2y ago
      Go to settings -> private browsing and enable "allow screenshots in private browsing".
    - chii 2y ago
      It's not just firefox (which, fortunately has a setting to turn off). There are apps whose name(s) i won't mention, that uses DRM to prevent screenshotting, and it's way harder to bypass.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

by kop316 2y ago

amonon 2y ago

Yes, this is the case. I cannot remember the details, but the OS makes applications aware that location mocking is turned on.

Ambroos 2y ago
You can just call .isMock() on the location object you receive: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/Location https://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/Loc... - without root that can't be bypassed.
Teever 2y ago
That's a pretty anti-user feature if you ask me. Especially for a device so personal as a smartphone. There needs to be legislation that prevents manufactures from overridinf the will of the user at the behest of app makers for devices like this.
- newaccount74 2y ago
  Having a smartphone provide a hard to fake location is a pretty valuable feature. A lot of businesses depend on the fact that location data is hard to fake. Consider caller ID - legislators around the world are working on making it harder to spoof your identity, because there's so much fraud going on with fake caller IDs. It's the same with location. Being able to easily fake location would open the door to so many frauds...
  - dmichulke 2y ago
    So how do you stop Google or Samsung from using your location data without your consent? - Not using GPS? Not an option because you need it - Disabling permissions? Not possible for "system apps" - Having the 10% privacy aware people block location somehow (via rooted phone or different distribution)? That doesn't help the other 90%. IMO the only solution is to poison the data with fake locations. Are there other options I missed?
  - Teever 2y ago
    > A lot of businesses depend... Do I care? Like not to be glib but as an end user buying a phone for my personal uses, I dont care about their businesses and I loathe the idea that their business model requires such an anti feature to be widely deployed in personal devices such as smart phones. Tell you what. I have a business model that requires your personal location data. Be a dear and send it to me. And again, why do I care about caller ID. It's been trash for years. I just never answer calls and use diffetent platforms such as Signal to communicate with my friends. It may open the door to so many frauds, but it opens the door to so many more abuses. People will talk about these 'features' differently the first time a large genocidal action takes place that makes use of this data.
    - mindslight 2y ago
      I fully agree with where you're coming from, but you kind of veered off with that last sentence. In general I think the threats from fine-grained surveillance databases are a lot more nuanced and pernicious than genocide.
    - newaccount74 2y ago
      Ride hailing apps rely on the fact that both customers and drivers phones don't lie about their location. Mapping companies rely on the fact that their crowdsourced data is reliable. Emergency services rely on the fact that phones share accurate locations. Delivery companies require authentic location data from their agents. Apps that allow people to rent scooters or bicycles rely on non-fake location data. If you made it easy to provide fake location data, a lot of apps would suddenly have to deal with a whole new class of fraud. I just don't see how this would be a net beneficial change.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  I think it might be a legal requirement for emergency services. I used to work a lot with VoIP and each line was required to have an address associated with it.
  - Teever 2y ago
    I'm fine with that, provided that there's sufficient oversight to prevent abuse. What I'm not fine with is one large corporation who makes phones baking this feature in so that other companies that make apps can profit off it. That's two parties conspiring to fuck over their customers. That needs to be regulated.
- ClassyJacket 2y ago
  Also: screenshots. Firefox won't allow me to screenshot a private window. It's my damn phone and I should be able to screenshot or record whatever the hell I want.
  - didsomeonesay 2y ago
    Go to settings -> private browsing and enable "allow screenshots in private browsing".
  - chii 2y ago
    It's not just firefox (which, fortunately has a setting to turn off). There are apps whose name(s) i won't mention, that uses DRM to prevent screenshotting, and it's way harder to bypass.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]