this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
496 points (84.3% liked)
Privacy
833 readers
7 users here now
Privacy is the ability for an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
Rules
- Don't do unto others what you don't want done unto you.
- No Porn, Gore, or NSFW content. Instant Ban.
- No Spamming, Trolling or Unsolicited Ads. Instant Ban.
- Stay on topic in a community. Please reach out to an admin to create a new community.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
No that's not very accurate. Cell phone tower triangulation only gives a rough approximation of location, and GPS is definitely able to be disabled by the software. I know a bit about these things as someone who has compiled their own android ROM from open source. I've been working on this stuff for more than a decade now.
Regardless of all of the above, anyone can turn off their cell phone or choose to not carry it to eliminate the ability for that cell phone to provide location data on them. This alone negates all the stupid "gotcha" comments about trying to preserve one's privacy while owning a smartphone. So we are back to my first comment on this topic, with the point of STOP IT.
That's why I said they send that to allow the phone's GPS to get a lock quicker and more accurate. All cell phone towers have GPS. Agps means the tower sends its GPS constellation to the phone so it doesn't take 5 minutes to lock.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GNSS
So yes, even with GPS disabled, the phone company has a rough idea where you are.
If you are in the city on high band 5g, that location is known within 15 to 600 meters.
https://nybsys.com/5g-bands/