The Next Major Version of Bluetooth Might Help Advertisers Track Your Smartphone Faster
FIFY
Let’s not pretend this feature didn’t trickle down the data harvesting dog-hydrant to us peons solely for our benefit.
Oh get a grip. I very much doubt phones will be giving out their exact location to devices they’re not connected to.
Uhhh that exact technology has been in use for years. Your phone broadcasts/receivers a beacon at regular intervals while Bluetooth is on. Anyone can pick it up if they are looking.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/14/opinion/bluetooth-wireless-tracking-privacy.html
The process is so streamlined companies bragged your advertising profile is updated before you check out.
This kind of monitoring and association technology is so advanced that Target famously had to turn it down because it was creeping out customers.
In order to track you or trigger an action like a coupon or message to your phone, companies need you to install an app on your phone that will recognize the beacon in the store. Retailers (like Target and Walmart) that use Bluetooth beacons typically build tracking into their own apps.
So, if you download apps like a Boomer downloads free tool bars, you’ve got something to worry about.
Also, doesn’t Android only give location data to apps you’re actively using?
The user may not be aware they have this tracking technology on their phone. The toolkit may be some app developer integrating a 3rd party library for analytics.
In fact, I was going to mention an app, Exodus, that can reveal these trackers and in scanning my phone, I found 2!. The first is home assistant, which is understandable, but the second is a Health app my doctor office uses! Man, that irks me!
I have to admit that I didn’t see this angle and greatly appreciate your comment.
