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I saw this on infinity for Reddit earlier, I don't know if there's a workaround for this or not.

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[-] forgotmylastusername@lemmy.ml 97 points 7 months ago

They talk as if they're protecting our privacy when it's really a global surveillance net. The spin doctoring is insane.

[-] LWD@lemm.ee 20 points 7 months ago

"Privacy Sandbox" is just Google-controlled surveillance carried out with your phone/PC as the primary data provider. We've reached maximum perversion of the English language.

[-] Scolding0513@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

this sort of gaslighting through corruption of vernacular used to amuse me, but now I feel like the withering wojak face anymore

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[-] Murdoc@sh.itjust.works 19 points 7 months ago

Straight up 1984 Newspeak, where the Ministry of Truth is really concerned with lies, the Ministry of Peace is concerned with war, the Ministry of Love is concerned with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty is concerned with starvation.

[-] trippingonthewire@lemmy.ml 5 points 7 months ago

It's honestly Doublethink.

Whenever Google gets exposed for bad practices, people ignore it. And they believe this stuff is good or don't care.

[-] onlinepersona@programming.dev 4 points 7 months ago

Bruh, so when android phones are turned off they'll still waste energy locating people and sharing the location. And most phones don't have a removable battery! Fucking nuts.

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[-] chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 50 points 7 months ago

the new google massive surveillance apparatus is ready to be deployed

[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 14 points 7 months ago

What do you think Google Maps and GSF are

[-] drwho@beehaw.org 11 points 7 months ago

More like, already deployed, this is just the announcement.

[-] mp3@lemmy.ca 10 points 7 months ago

Apple already does it with their iPhone, just saying.

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[-] LaggyKar@programming.dev 36 points 7 months ago

Where is that mentioned? I can't find that in the article

[-] Decade4116@awful.systems 22 points 7 months ago

I also couldn't find a mention, and it definitely does not make sense (and likely isn't even possible) to run Bluetooth without Android itself running

...which uses a crowdsourced device-locating network to help you find your lost or misplaced devices and belongings quickly – even when they’re offline.

Maybe this line is being misinterpreted?

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[-] fredrik@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago

It's mentioned in the linked article about Find My Device.

This is what it says

1. Locate offline devices

Locate your compatible Android phone and tablet by ringing them or viewing their location on a map in the app — even when they’re offline. And thanks to specialized Pixel hardware, Pixel 8 and 8 Pro owners will also be able to find their devices if they’re powered off or the battery is dead.

[-] Decade4116@awful.systems 13 points 7 months ago

I don't know that means Bluetooth will be running when the device is off. "Specialized hardware" could mean a full Bluetooth modem on backup power, but more likely it's means there's a low power beacon. Would be interesting if anyone does a teardown of the Pixel 8.

For non-Pixel 8 devices, definitely not. I assume "Offline" refers to the case where your device doesn't have WiFi/LTE, but can still use Bluetooth to communicate with devices that do.

[-] drwho@beehaw.org 5 points 7 months ago

That is why we took our time when designing the new Find My Device, which uses a crowdsourced device-locating network to help you find your lost or misplaced devices and belongings quickly – even when they’re offline.

[-] LaggyKar@programming.dev 9 points 7 months ago

That doesn't say that. Although the article linked from there does, for Pixels.

And thanks to specialized Pixel hardware, Pixel 8 and 8 Pro owners will also be able to find their devices if they’re powered off or the battery is dead.

[-] ErwinLottemann@feddit.de 3 points 7 months ago

even with a dead battery? how? there must be something 'turned on' to send bluetooth signals or is this magic?

[-] YerbaYerba@lemm.ee 8 points 7 months ago

I suspect it still draws battery power, but extremely small amounts. Few mah left in the battery could power a BLE beacon for weeks. There would be some limit to this as draining the lithium battery too deeply will damage it.

[-] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 5 points 7 months ago

Not necessarily, there are lots of completely passive beacon technologies. I seem to remember reading a few years ago about beacons powered by Wifi signals.

Obviously you also need other phones to be able to pick up those signals so it might take until phones with Android 15 become commonplace which might take a while. But it's definitely doable.

[-] mctoasterson@reddthat.com 31 points 7 months ago

Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS is looking like a good long term choice right now.

[-] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 8 points 7 months ago

Graphene is built on Android. If you enable all the gsf on graphene with android 15 it can probably still run in the background while off.

[-] null@slrpnk.net 21 points 7 months ago

"Probably" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

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[-] HelloHotel@lemm.ee 7 points 7 months ago

kinda what @null@slrpnk.net said, we should probably wait for graphineOS's expert opinion on the matter.

[-] BoisZoi@lemmy.ml 31 points 7 months ago
[-] lemmyingly@lemm.ee 11 points 7 months ago

Not a single mention in the article about whether Bluetooth is turned on or off.

Samsung has an opt in option for the Smart thing network. I guess Google will go the same route.

I think mod should step in and fix the title.

You're right that it's not at all what the article was saying.

I see HOW op got to that assumption.

[-] istanbullu@lemmy.ml 26 points 7 months ago

It seems like a waste of battery

[-] Scolding0513@sh.itjust.works 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Can someone explain where the code for this will be located (aosp, gsf)? How can I make sure that it will never ever be activated? What Graphene's response? etc

[-] HelloHotel@lemm.ee 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

it looks like its going to be a hardware feature. if the main CPU is off, it implies the radio circuitry and its CPU (the BBM) are still powered. give google this at least, the special new Bluetooth API will be accessible to whatever OS is alive and awake to send commands (even if I don't trust that "off" means "off"). the fact that its using encryption (that's too complicated to be made out of Integrated Circut logic) means its likely another software feature added to the BBM co-processor (it handles all radio tasks on the phone). this all but confirms the BBM (at least going forward) will still get power, be awake and have access to the (transmit (TX) and reseave (RX) functions of the) radios even when everything else is properly off.

EDIT: or it could be an abuse of a generic BLE beacon mechanism that's "just there for whatever the consumer would need it for". but if they are doing proprietary encryption like they claim, that's not really possible without updating the BBM's software to add another feature.

[-] trippingonthewire@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

How effective do you believe that a Faraday cage would be against this mechanism?

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[-] DictatorGator@feddit.de 2 points 7 months ago

We could wait for the implementation from the GrapheneOS team ! I'm pretty sure that they would implement it in a way that would be safe for the user.

[-] onlinepersona@programming.dev 4 points 7 months ago

If it's hardware controlled, then the Graphene OS team would have to find a flaw in the hardware, or trust that when they tell the hardware to shut off, that it really does shut off, or find a way to verify that the hardware is really of. But even if they could tell the hardware to shut off, verify that it's off, and then shut down, the hardware could turn back on after the software is off and the software would be none the wiser.

The only way 2 ways anybody can be relatively sure this feature is off are:

  • pulling the battery:
    • good luck with that with phones that don't have removable batteries
    • hopefully there won't be a small backup battery to power this specific circuit
  • physically disconnecting this circuit from other circuits:
    • that might mean saying goodbye to bluetooth functionality on the phone

The alternative is getting a linux phone with hardware that doesn't have this feature.

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[-] melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee 3 points 7 months ago

Fuck, okay, Linux on my phone now, because corporations just spray shit on everything

[-] onlinepersona@programming.dev 3 points 7 months ago

I hope linux phones will become more of a thing as they aren't there yet IMO. But of course you can always get a second hand phone... forgot that option

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[-] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 9 points 7 months ago

You can turn off the phone???

[-] refalo@programming.dev 4 points 7 months ago

Not completely. My understanding is that the baseband radio still always runs even when the application OS is shutdown, and it (often) has its own connections to the GPS, camera and microphone, sometimes even the filesystem (Samsung RFS). The battery not being removable makes this even more problematic IMO.

[-] kratoz29@lemm.ee 5 points 7 months ago

I guess the recommendation of turning off the Bluetooth to save battery, or the sarcastic comment that usually says "bro, just turn off the phone if you care too much about the battery" are gonna be obsolete now aren't they?

[-] als 4 points 7 months ago

Postmarket OS Here I come! Now just the problem of banking apps ...

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this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2024
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