Hundreds Of Android Apps Silently Track Users With Ultrasounds

[Lucian Armasu]

Researchers from the Brunswick Technical University uncovered 234 Android apps that track users via ultrasounds. The practice may increase in popularity unless Google takes action to restrict this type of user tracking.

Hundreds Of Android Apps Silently Track Users With Ultrasounds : Read more

 

[David_713]

A list of apps would be helpful!

 

[David_713]

The Brunswick Technical University link is dead.

 

[toadhammer]

If you read the source research paper, it's clear they don't have a list of confirmed apps, just what their machine learning guessed might be doing it. If you search 'SilverPush', you'll see they claim '67 apps' were using their code and the FTC says they 'warned 12 unidentified Android app developers.' No one's willing to disclose actual apps due to the toxic privacy issues.

Lucian, if you're granting microphone permissions to your apps, location tracking may be the least invasive privacy problem you have since it can record anything it hears, not just audio beacons.

 

[Achoo22]

This has gotten way out of hand. People should be ANGRY.

 

[matthelm]

I just found the list of those 67 apps. Anyone that used them deserves to be tracked!

 

[Kewlx25]

The platform should filter out high frequency sound.

 

[g-unit1111]

Once again it all comes back to advertising. Which is why I hate the marketing and advertising industry. What are they doing with all this data? Why do they need this data?

 

[alextheblue]

Once again it all comes back to advertising. Which is why I hate the marketing and advertising industry. What are they doing with all this data? Why do they need this data?

For those who use modern smartplatforms extensively, some data is necessary for the operation of things like increasingly-sophisticated apps and digital assistants. But a lot of it is collected purely for the sake of highly targeted ads, and much of it goes way too far. The other problem is that even when they collect necessary data for proper operation of assistants or other software, they don't ONLY collect it for that purpose. It goes right in the pot with all the other data they've collected on you... outfits like Google/Alphabet and Facebook are especially big on this. That's why they keep offering more and more "free" services/apps/etc and growing their "software suite". The more things of theirs you use, the more data they milk. Email, documents, search for keywords and tag you with them. Youtube, track videos watched, search through comments, etc. It never ends. They're almost entirely ad revenue and thus they and others like them are the biggest offenders. But even those who aren't in it just for ad revenue aren't completely saints either.

 

[g-unit1111]

That's why they keep offering more and more "free" services/apps/etc and growing their "software suite". The more things of theirs you use, the more data they milk. Email, documents, search for keywords and tag you with them. Youtube, track videos watched, search through comments, etc. It never ends. They're almost entirely ad revenue and thus they and others like them are the biggest offenders. But even those who aren't in it just for ad revenue aren't completely saints either.

Yeah that's a good point - it seems like it's just a more sophisticated way of delivering ad content. I try to block ads at every possible opportunity I get. It gets exhausting, but watching commercials everywhere is something I don't particularly want to spend my time doing. And it doesn't guarantee I'm going to buy their product either. :lol:

 

[drajitsh]

It should be legislated that once you pay to remove ads, then the tracking mechanisms must also be disabled simultaneously.

 

[JonDol]

Reading this I can't help but think this kind of tracking without permission was a NSA feature request...

 

[elho_cid]

Another reason to hang on to Windows Mobile as long as possible. Too bad the BB10 didn't catch up

 

[Alexequis]

http://christian.wressnegger.info/content/projects/sidechannels/2017-eurosp corrected link

 

[philipemaciel]

Well, finally a time when the app gap and lack of interest of developers in W10 Mobile comes handy

 

[rwinches]

Android needs to let users deny app permissions.

 

[randomizer]

Android needs to let users deny app permissions.

As of Marshmallow it does. For applications built on the Marshmallow or later SDK you can deny them when they are requested. For applications built on older SDKs that request permissions at install time you need to go into the settings to deny the permissions. Android then feeds them fake data so that they still work.