From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

sms wrote on Fri, 29 Nov 2024 14:10:17 -0800 :

A Useful Android Advantage: GPS Spoofing.

Yesterday we were driving to San Francisco from Silicon Valley and I
told my son to get us on the wait list for a popular restaurant.

He tried, but the Yelp wait list app uses geofencing and you can't sign
up on the wait list unless you're within a certain distance from the restaurant, apparently five miles, and we were about 15 miles away.

My son has an iPhone. I said to him "well on Android..." and he
interrupted me and said, "yes, I know what you're going to say, GPS
location spoofing."

This is the second instance I am aware of where GPS location spoofing
would be useful. The other is to try to get a two-day advance permit to
hike "The Wave:" "Two days before desired entry¡V Apply using your phone
or other mobile device between 6 AM and 6 PM Utah time two days before
the desired entry date on recreation.gov. You must be within the
designated geofenced area to apply."

Steve is correct that you can't do something even this simple on iOS.

And yet, it's extremely useful for anyone, even as nospam would say it's
*not needed* & *not wanted*
Simply because Apple doesn't have the technical knowhow to implement it.

In fact, this native GPS location spoofing can be used whenever a program
or web site "thinks" it needs your location - where I use it mostly because some programs require GPS location when they don't actually "need" it.

For example, graphical Wi-Fi & cellular debuggers "require" your GPS radio
to be on, but you know where you are - so they don't actually "need" it.

But you have to give them your location - so - you spoof it. Here's how:
1. Download a mock-location app
2. Turn on Developer options
3. Set the mock-location app
4. Run the app

The mock-location app I use most is Lexa but there are many to choose from.
I chose Lexa as the Skyica App Finder lists it as the best rated, but other apps will spoof Wi-Fi providers too, and other apps will move along a road, etc., which I found when I tested every Android fake-GPS app a while ago.

Fake GPS location by Lexa
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps>

Fake GPS Location - LocaEdit
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobile.fakelocation>

Mocation Fake Location by Rasfar
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rasfar.mock.location>

DS Fake GPS Location by Disciple Skies
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.discipleskies.mock_location_spoofer>

Mock Location and More by Vyrazu Labs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vyrazu.mocklocationfakegps>

Cartage - Fake GPS Location by Mock Applications
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mock.cartage>

Fake GPS: Location spoofer
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=project.listick.fakegps>

AnyGo GPS Spoofer: Fake GPS
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.luckydog.anygoapp>

Mock Loc
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mocker.mockloc>

Fake GPS Location Spoofer by Fast Video Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fake.gps.location.changer.spoof.location>

Movable Mock GPS by Tomer Brosh
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bomerapps.movablemockgps>

GPS Locker Fake your location by Foxbyte Code
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foxbytecode.gpslocker>

Fake GPS Phone Location by Selfie Photo Editor
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=find.my.friends.family.gps.location.tracker>

GPS Spoofer MH Tool - Loc Spoof by liqiyu
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.irocket.locspoof>

GPS Location Change - Joystick by LovMoMo
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.momo.fakegps.locationchanger>

AnyGo-AnyTo Change Location by dcxhwsj
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iFoneTool.AnyGo>
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

sms wrote on Fri, 29 Nov 2024 14:10:17 -0800 :

A Useful Android Advantage: GPS Spoofing.

Yesterday we were driving to San Francisco from Silicon Valley and I
told my son to get us on the wait list for a popular restaurant.

He tried, but the Yelp wait list app uses geofencing and you can't sign
up on the wait list unless you're within a certain distance from the
restaurant, apparently five miles, and we were about 15 miles away.

My son has an iPhone. I said to him "well on Android..." and he
interrupted me and said, "yes, I know what you're going to say, GPS
location spoofing."

This is the second instance I am aware of where GPS location spoofing
would be useful. The other is to try to get a two-day advance permit to
hike "The Wave:" "Two days before desired entry¡V Apply using your phone
or other mobile device between 6 AM and 6 PM Utah time two days before
the desired entry date on recreation.gov. You must be within the
designated geofenced area to apply."

Steve is correct that you can't do something even this simple on iOS.

And yet, it's extremely useful for anyone, even as nospam would say it's
*not needed* & *not wanted*
Simply because Apple doesn't have the technical knowhow to implement it.

In fact, this native GPS location spoofing can be used whenever a program
or web site "thinks" it needs your location - where I use it mostly because some programs require GPS location when they don't actually "need" it.

For example, graphical Wi-Fi & cellular debuggers "require" your GPS radio to be on, but you know where you are - so they don't actually "need" it.

But you have to give them your location - so - you spoof it. Here's how:
1. Download a mock-location app
2. Turn on Developer options
3. Set the mock-location app
4. Run the app

The mock-location app I use most is Lexa but there are many to choose from.
I chose Lexa as the Skyica App Finder lists it as the best rated, but other apps will spoof Wi-Fi providers too, and other apps will move along a road, etc., which I found when I tested every Android fake-GPS app a while ago.

Fake GPS location by Lexa
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps>

Fake GPS Location - LocaEdit
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobile.fakelocation>

Mocation Fake Location by Rasfar
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rasfar.mock.location>

DS Fake GPS Location by Disciple Skies
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.discipleskies.mock_location_spoofer>

Mock Location and More by Vyrazu Labs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vyrazu.mocklocationfakegps>

Cartage - Fake GPS Location by Mock Applications
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mock.cartage>

Fake GPS: Location spoofer
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=project.listick.fakegps>

AnyGo GPS Spoofer: Fake GPS
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.luckydog.anygoapp>

Mock Loc
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mocker.mockloc>

Fake GPS Location Spoofer by Fast Video Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fake.gps.location.changer.spoof.location>

Movable Mock GPS by Tomer Brosh
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bomerapps.movablemockgps>

GPS Locker Fake your location by Foxbyte Code
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foxbytecode.gpslocker>

Fake GPS Phone Location by Selfie Photo Editor
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=find.my.friends.family.gps.location.tracker>

GPS Spoofer MH Tool - Loc Spoof by liqiyu
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.irocket.locspoof>

GPS Location Change - Joystick by LovMoMo
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.momo.fakegps.locationchanger>

AnyGo-AnyTo Change Location by dcxhwsj
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iFoneTool.AnyGo>

Should be built-in in a good VPN app.

--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Cameo wrote on Sat, 30 Nov 2024 03:56:26 -0000 (UTC) :

Should be built-in in a good VPN app.

Good point that your IP address contains a geolocatable source location.

My perfect GPS spoofer would return the spoofed GPS location, which would randomly snap to roads at a random set of paces (consistent with the road speeds) at a given time frame with the altitude removed as most altitude spoofing is done via a Google lookup (which kind of gives you away).

I'd also remove the nearby Wi-Fi access points, as they give you away too.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On 11/29/2024 7:56 PM, Cameo wrote:

<snip>

Should be built-in in a good VPN app.

True, it is built into Surfshark (for Android only).

On an iPhone you can connect the phone to a computer and use iAnyGo,
$89.95 for a lifetime license.

GPS spoofing can also be a safety thing for victims of abuse that have
fled an abusive spouse and that want to prevent tracking.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On 30.11.24 06:12, sms wrote:

On 11/29/2024 7:56 PM, Cameo wrote:

<snip>

Should be built-in in a good VPN app.

True, it is built into Surfshark (for Android only).

On an iPhone you can connect the phone to a computer and use iAnyGo,
$89.95 for a lifetime license.

GPS spoofing can also be a safety thing for victims of abuse that have
fled an abusive spouse and that want to prevent tracking.

There are much better solutions for that which are safer and cheaper.
--
"Roma locuta, causa finita." (Augustinus)
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

On 11/29/2024 7:56 PM, Cameo wrote:

<snip>

Should be built-in in a good VPN app.

True, it is built into Surfshark (for Android only).

Darn, I do subscribe to Surfshark, but it is not much use on my iPhone.

On an iPhone you can connect the phone to a computer and use iAnyGo,
$89.95 for a lifetime license.

But that would not let me use it away from the computer, right?



--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy



On Sat, 30 Nov 2024, Andrew wrote:

Cameo wrote on Sat, 30 Nov 2024 03:56:26 -0000 (UTC) :

Should be built-in in a good VPN app.

Good point that your IP address contains a geolocatable source location.

My perfect GPS spoofer would return the spoofed GPS location, which would randomly snap to roads at a random set of paces (consistent with the road speeds) at a given time frame with the altitude removed as most altitude spoofing is done via a Google lookup (which kind of gives you away).

I'd also remove the nearby Wi-Fi access points, as they give you away too.

When I'm on planes with limited free wifi, I generate new MAC addresses
for continued free wifi.

Don't know if this is a thing in the US, but in europe it has worked for
me on 2 airlines.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Cameo wrote on Sat, 30 Nov 2024 07:16:46 -0000 (UTC) :

On an iPhone you can connect the phone to a computer and use iAnyGo,
$89.95 for a lifetime license.

But that would not let me use it away from the computer, right?

Bear in mind that the IP address is only one geolocatable entity that a
phone reports back to the site that is trying to locate your position.

IMHO, most Android phones are poorly set up such that they update your (so-called) "precise location" to Google (via nearby Wi-Fi access points).

I'm not sure about iPhones though. Do they update your (so-called) "precise location" (via local Wi-Fi access points) to Google & other servers?

Probably not since Apple does its equivalent of (so-called) "precise
location" differently.

Differentially, Androids *upload* all the access points they can "see" to online public Google/Mozilla/WiGle/etc., servers,. while iPhones *download* that public access-point information.

The question is *where* does Apple get that public AP information from?
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Andy Burns wrote on Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:25:05 +0000 :

This is the second instance I am aware of where GPS location spoofing
would be useful.

Is it actually an advantage, if you don't make use of it?

Do you ever check traffic near home while you're using your mobile device?
<https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3572114,-121.9626943,12.68z>

Do you want to maintain your location privacy while checking that traffic?
<https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3572114,-121.9626943,12z/data=!5m1!1e1>

I often check traffic using that Google web URL for my local Silicon Valley area where at a glance I can easily tell the red from the green zones.

Since I'm familiar with my home area, a simple "color" glance tells me
which direction has less traffic (e.g., up 85 to 101 or up 880 to 101).

Why should I give Google my (so-called) "precise location" (or even my
course location) just to check the colors in that local traffic report?

With mock location (aka GPS fake location spoofing) we can tap on that web
URL to Google's web browser map interface to see Silicon Valley traffic.

And Google has no idea where we are (Firefox also, if we were to use it).
--
Note that "precise location" requires spoofing Wi-Fi AP to report nothing.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Andrew wrote:

Do you ever check traffic near home while you're using your mobile device? <https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3572114,-121.9626943,12z/data=!5m1!1e1>

Not typically on a city-scale like that, the hotspot will likely alter
during my journey, but I do use 'satnav' even on journeys I'm familiar
with, to allow it to give me re-routing choices along the way.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Sat, 30 Nov 2024 11:12:46 -0000 (UTC), Andrew wrote:

Andy Burns wrote on Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:25:05 +0000 :

This is the second instance I am aware of where GPS location spoofing
would be useful.

Is it actually an advantage, if you don't make use of it?

Do you ever check traffic near home while you're using your mobile device?
<https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3572114,-121.9626943,12.68z>

Do you want to maintain your location privacy while checking that traffic?
<https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3572114,-121.9626943,12z/data=!5m1!1e1>

I often check traffic using that Google web URL for my local Silicon Valley area where at a glance I can easily tell the red from the green zones.

Since I'm familiar with my home area, a simple "color" glance tells me
which direction has less traffic (e.g., up 85 to 101 or up 880 to 101).

Why should I give Google my (so-called) "precise location" (or even my
course location) just to check the colors in that local traffic report?

With mock location (aka GPS fake location spoofing) we can tap on that web URL to Google's web browser map interface to see Silicon Valley traffic.

And Google has no idea where we are (Firefox also, if we were to use it).
--
Note that "precise location" requires spoofing Wi-Fi AP to report nothing.

I've been using a similar web url for "home" and for "hospital" for years.
All the while using lexa as the best app for the location spoofing part.

It asks if you want to use the Google Maps app but you just say no.

Then it brings up Google Maps in the web browser which works perfect.

Google doesn't know where you are but you can still see all the traffic.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

VanguardLH wrote on Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:38:09 -0600 :

Me: "Which what GPS spoofing app do you use on your phone?"

I can help answer all your questions, VanGuardLH, because not only am I an extremely helpful person, but I've tested EVERY single free ad free mock location app there is (and wrote about them on this ng many times).

Given I've tested them all, it's likely perhaps that I probably know more
about GPS spoofing than anyone on this newsgroup, so I can help you too.

I know the OP (Steve) well & while he does use Android & iOS daily (just as
I do too), he doesn't know all that much about Android, so you're not
likely to get from Steve which is the best app - but you can try as Steve
is listening so he is welcome to answer your questions for you if I can't.

That was addressed to sms, not to you, Andrew, and anyone else in this discussion. It is unclear from sms remarks if he uses a GPS spoofing
app at all, or merely commented that it's possible on Android as a jibe against iOS.

Steve is an expert (as am I an expert) in the difference between Android
and iOS, although Steve doesn't know as much as I do about Android technicalities & I don't know as much as Steve does about iOS intricacies.

Together we know a LOT more than any of the rest of the people here do.
That means any answer from both Steve and from me, is a damn good answer.

Just ask.

Andrew made a list, but does he really use ALL those apps? No, he just
did a search, and spewed out the search hits.

Please don't guess as your guess is dead wrong. I have tested *every* app
in that list and I reported on them in the past - where in the end, I
settled on Lexa, which does happen to be the most highly rated spoofer app.

*Fake GPS location by Lexa*
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps>

That doesn't [mean] any of them are good nor indicate which is best.

If I recommend an app, it's already damn good as I have a zero tolerance
policy for apps that don't do what they're supposed to do, for free.

Without ads.

Lexa isn't perfect but it's good. But it doesn't have all that I want.

What I'd want in a gps spoofing app is more detail about the cellular &
Wi-Fi access point spoofing it does - and I'd want it to snap to roads when moving and it would be nice if the altitude database wasn't from Google.

I already did the "gps" search at
play.google.com, and mentioned that, but I didn't go listing every
search hit. I was prodding for recommendations. Just because someone
uses an app doesn't mean they stuck with it, and might've changed to
another one until they found a best choice. Andrew can publish a large
a lists as he wants that are merely search hits at play.google.com, or elsewhere (e.g., fdroid.com).

I've said many times that Lexa is the best, but it's a close match since
all the listed apps are free ad free GPS spoofing apps - so the difference between any two apps comes down to the list of additional features it has.

A dictionary doesn't teach how to write.

Being an extremely helpful kind-hearted person, I'm going to go a bit out
of my way to help you understand that searching Google Play Store is like searching the dictionary with your eyes closed and randomly picking apps.

Don't do that.
The Google Play Store search is just about the worst search there is.

Actually, it might even be worse than the Apple App Store search, but
they're both on the same level of absolutely atrocious lack of filters.

Both App Stores just output a list without any useful filtering of it.

When you want meaningful filtering, which you can't get on iOS but you can
get on Android, is why you want to use the free ad free Skyica App Finder.
<https://skyica.com/appfinder/get/>

It's not an exaggeration there will never be a better search engine in the history of smart phones than that app, which I helped the developer test.

The search filters are like a UNIX manpage in terms of user control, and
yet, the basic search is a clickbox set of simple suggestions.

In my humble opinion, bearing in mind I know Android better than most
people do, this Skyica App Finder is easily the best app on Android.

Once you use Skyica, you'll never use the Google Play Store search again.
Since you love details, try it and let us know what you think of it.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote on Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:38:09 -0600 :

Me: "Which what GPS spoofing app do you use on your phone?"

I can help answer all your questions, VanGuardLH, because not only am I an extremely helpful person, but I've tested EVERY single free ad free mock location app there is (and wrote about them on this ng many times).

Given I've tested them all, it's likely perhaps that I probably know more about GPS spoofing than anyone on this newsgroup, so I can help you too.

Since you mentioned VanGuardLH here, it provides me an excuse to bring up
an annoing geolocation issue regarding the iOS version in the Vanguard app
of the Vanguard Funds investment firm where I keep some of my self-managed
401K savings.

Their app that is virtually identical on Android an iOS, does not allow download to locations outside of US claiming some security concerns. Interestingly though Vanguard allows the app to work anywhere as long as it
was downloaded and installed in the US. This restriction does not apply to
the Android version. So this means I cannot use the iOS version now because
I bought my first iPhone in Hungary and tried to use the app on my iPhone
15. Luckily I can use the app on my old degraded Android phone that I
brought with me from the US. But I don’t want to go back to that slow old phone, just for this reason. What is puzzling is that the iOS app would
work here if it was installed in the US before leaving the country.
I tried to fake my location to my old US residence via SurfShark VPN, but
the AppStore could not be fooled with that. Interestingly, the AppStore
does not have this restriction with a similar FldeIity funds app where I
also keep part of my 401K savings. I wish you or somebody else could help
me overcome this problem.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

sms, 2024-11-30 06:12:

On 11/29/2024 7:56 PM, Cameo wrote:

<snip>

Should be built-in in a good VPN app.

True, it is built into Surfshark (for Android only).

On an iPhone you can connect the phone to a computer and use iAnyGo,
$89.95 for a lifetime license.

GPS spoofing can also be a safety thing for victims of abuse that have
fled an abusive spouse and that want to prevent tracking.

Only, if that "abusive spouse" knows how to do the tracking. Without
permission no one can just track others people phones. And if the
"abusive spouse" works at a telecommunication provider he may have the
location without any GPS at all, since the mobile network base stations
always know what devices are near them.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote on Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:38:09 -0600 :

Me: "Which what GPS spoofing app do you use on your phone?"

I can help answer all your questions, VanGuardLH, because not only am I an >> extremely helpful person, but I've tested EVERY single free ad free mock
location app there is (and wrote about them on this ng many times).

Given I've tested them all, it's likely perhaps that I probably know more
about GPS spoofing than anyone on this newsgroup, so I can help you too.

Since you mentioned VanGuardLH here, it provides me an excuse to bring up
an annoing geolocation issue regarding the iOS version in the Vanguard app of the Vanguard Funds investment firm where I keep some of my self-managed 401K savings.

Their app that is virtually identical on Android an iOS, does not allow download to locations outside of US claiming some security concerns. Interestingly though Vanguard allows the app to work anywhere as long as it was downloaded and installed in the US. This restriction does not apply to the Android version. So this means I cannot use the iOS version now because
I bought my first iPhone in Hungary and tried to use the app on my iPhone
15. Luckily I can use the app on my old degraded Android phone that I
brought with me from the US. But I don’t want to go back to that slow old phone, just for this reason. What is puzzling is that the iOS app would
work here if it was installed in the US before leaving the country.
I tried to fake my location to my old US residence via SurfShark VPN, but
the AppStore could not be fooled with that. Interestingly, the AppStore
does not have this restriction with a similar FldeIity funds app where I
also keep part of my 401K savings. I wish you or somebody else could help
me overcome this problem.

This sounds like a Vanguard issue. Have you contacted them?


--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On 12/2/2024 12:30 AM, Cameo wrote:

<snip>

I tried to fake my location to my old US residence via SurfShark VPN, but
the AppStore could not be fooled with that. Interestingly, the AppStore
does not have this restriction with a similar FldeIity funds app where I
also keep part of my 401K savings. I wish you or somebody else could help
me overcome this problem.

Can you spoof your iPhone location using the method where it has to
connect to a computer in order to install the app? <https://surfshark.com/blog/how-to-change-location-on-iphone>.

On apps that use geolocation, just a VPN is not sufficient.

But I wonder about Wi-Fi only iPads since Apple forgot to include GPS capability. On most Android tablets, even those without cellular
connectivity, there is still a GPS so apps that require a GPS, like
offline mapping, will still work.


--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

AJL wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 18:13:34 -0000 (UTC) :

On 12/2/24 10:36 AM, Andrew wrote:

AJL wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 16:24:51 -0000 (UTC) :

GPS spoofing can also be a safety thing for victims of abuse that have >>>>> fled an abusive spouse and that want to prevent tracking.

How many abused spouses would even have a clue on how to set that up?

How many people with plumbing repairs hire a plumber to do the dirty work?

Me. But all the work is done safely and legally.

Rest assured, living in the boonies myself, I do all my well pump and
septic work, I take care of my own pool, I cut down trees to burn for
firewood myself, I trench for my (off-grid) guerrilla solar setup, I do my
own electrical work, and plumbing repairs, I refill my carbon dioxide sodastream canisters at home, I refill my one pound propane tanks from my
20 pounders which themselves are filled from my thousand-gallon propane
tank, I refill the vehicles with gasoline myself at home, my cars are 30
years old and I do all the maintenance & repairs, including changing the
tires when they're worn and balancing them at home, etc.

But my point was that the fact you "can" be tracked is more important than
if the person who wants to track you "knows how" to do it - since they can always hire someone to do that dirty work for them.

Never seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie? :)
(It's the butler. I swear!).

All the "abusive spouse" needs to do is hire someone to track his/her >>spouse, so the mere fact that they 'can be tracked' is the problem set.

Hire someone to track a spouse? Bad idea on both legal and criminal grounds.

If someone is going to track a spouse, I doubt they care if it's legal or
not, but I even doubt whether or not it's illegal if no court order is involved. I don't know. I'm not a lawyer. Neither are you I presume.

I suspect it's perfectly legal to "track a spouse" as long as you don't
break a law (e.g., violating a court order) in doing so.

But you're missing the point completely.

The privacy hole is that you "can" be tracked. Not that you "are" tracked, since you will likely never know if you're actually being tracked.

Only, if that "abusive spouse" knows how to do the tracking. Without >>>>permission no one can just track others people phones. And if the >>>>"abusive spouse" works at a telecommunication provider he may have the >>>>location without any GPS at all, since the mobile network base stations >>>>always know what devices are near them.

My wife's iPhone is easy to track from any browser of any device. For
example I sometimes use this Amazon Fire tablet I'm posting with to check >>> on her location when she's late getting home. Course I do have the account >>> password since I've always controlled the family electronics. And I suspect
an abusive spouse could easily do the same thing, no fancy-dancy
electronics or tracking experience needed...

Anyone with physical access to any computing device can add spyware to it. >>Anyone with money can hire someone to add that spyware even without access.

Hire someone to mess with my computer? Bad idea on security grounds.

You probably don't know anything about military theory but it's a classic premise that you guard against what they "can" do; not what you think
they'll do.

Being an historian at heart, I've seen numerous times in history from the
dawn of antiquity that countries floundered who "thought" the enemy
couldn't get them and the enemy, instead, did what they "could" do - not
what they thought they would do.

Take, for example, the reason the Bull Thistle is the official flower for Ireland, or the reason Hannibal lost an eye in Italy but defeated Scipio.

You guard against what they "can" do; not what you "think" they will do.
And they can track you (if you don't guard against it).

The problem set is that you "can" be tracked; not that it takes knowledge >>to do it, which is a reason Apple tracking was reviled earlier this year.

Of course. My granddaughter always tracks her kids. Loves the capability.

*Apple Geolocation API Exposes Wi-Fi Access Points Worldwide*
<https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint-security/apple-geolocation-api-exposes-wi-fi-access-points-worldwide>

When my kids went to college, admittedly a long time ago, I added Specter tracking software to their computers so I would know if they were in
trouble, but I never used it so I didn't bother when they had grandkids.

It's so easy to add a keylogger to any computing device, it's not funny.
Anyone with physical access can do anything to most computers.

That's why you guard against what people "can" do; not what you think they
will do. It's a basic self defense strategy since the dawn of time.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

sms wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 10:08:05 -0800 :

But I wonder about Wi-Fi only iPads since Apple forgot to include GPS capability.

I ran an experiment on a Wi-Fi only iPad years ago, and it did mapping
quite well, surprisingly. The current location moved in fits though, as it figured out, from the local access points, where it was (it snapped to the
road surprisingly well from the Costo at Almaden to the San Jose airport).

On most Android tablets, even those without cellular
connectivity, there is still a GPS so apps that require a GPS, like
offline mapping, will still work.

For Android, a decent offline GPS-only map is the free OSMAnd~ app.
*OsmAnd& Maps & GPS Offline by OsmAnd, In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 4.5 star, 153K reviews, 10M+ Downloads
<https://osmand.net/>
<https://f-droid.org/repo/net.osmand.plus_431203.apk>
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/>
<https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd>

You can download Google Maps offline, which I did for years when it first
came out, but it's so much of a PITA that I don't bother with that anymore.

On Android (and on iOS) one can download and route and show your position
on an offline geoReferenced PDF (all the USA parks & every inch of the USA except for the military locations has a free georeferenced PDF for that).

Most people use Avenza (iOS/Android) for routing on georeferenced PDFs.
*Avenza Maps* Offline Mapping by Avenza Systems Inc., In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 4.6 star, 72.6K reviews, 1M+ Downloads
<https://www.avenza.com/avenza-maps/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Avenza>
<https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id388424049>

But I use Paper Maps (iOS/Android) because it has fewer limitations.
*Paper Maps* by Abbro Inc, In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 5K+ Downloads
<https://www.paper-maps.com/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.abbro.androidmap>
<https://apps.apple.com/app/nextmap/id1147385120>

What I use also is a platform-agnostic web site which generates geoPDFs for
any area, such as Caltopo does - as can be shown here for Europe.
<https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=40.14529,14.83154&z=5&b=mbt>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.caltopo.android>

With Caltopo, you can plan a route and save it on a georeferenced PDF.
Then you can load that georeferenced PDF & route into any map program.
<https://www.offline-maps.net/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.psyberia.offlinemaps>

There's more if you know what you're doing, as I never have any problem
routing offline on either iOS or Android (but I mostly use Android).
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote on Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:38:09 -0600 :

Me: "Which what GPS spoofing app do you use on your phone?"

I can help answer all your questions, VanGuardLH, because not only am I an >>> extremely helpful person, but I've tested EVERY single free ad free mock >>> location app there is (and wrote about them on this ng many times).

Given I've tested them all, it's likely perhaps that I probably know more >>> about GPS spoofing than anyone on this newsgroup, so I can help you too. >>>

Since you mentioned VanGuardLH here, it provides me an excuse to bring up
an annoing geolocation issue regarding the iOS version in the Vanguard app >> of the Vanguard Funds investment firm where I keep some of my self-managed >> 401K savings.

Their app that is virtually identical on Android an iOS, does not allow
download to locations outside of US claiming some security concerns.
Interestingly though Vanguard allows the app to work anywhere as long as it >> was downloaded and installed in the US. This restriction does not apply to >> the Android version. So this means I cannot use the iOS version now because >> I bought my first iPhone in Hungary and tried to use the app on my iPhone
15. Luckily I can use the app on my old degraded Android phone that I
brought with me from the US. But I don’t want to go back to that slow old >> phone, just for this reason. What is puzzling is that the iOS app would
work here if it was installed in the US before leaving the country.
I tried to fake my location to my old US residence via SurfShark VPN, but
the AppStore could not be fooled with that. Interestingly, the AppStore
does not have this restriction with a similar FldeIity funds app where I
also keep part of my 401K savings. I wish you or somebody else could help >> me overcome this problem.

This sounds like a Vanguard issue. Have you contacted them?

Yes, but the guys you get on the phone don’t know much about tech issues. They know about financial ones, mostly.

--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote on Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:38:09 -0600 :

Me: "Which what GPS spoofing app do you use on your phone?"

I can help answer all your questions, VanGuardLH, because not only am I an >>>> extremely helpful person, but I've tested EVERY single free ad free mock >>>> location app there is (and wrote about them on this ng many times).

Given I've tested them all, it's likely perhaps that I probably know more >>>> about GPS spoofing than anyone on this newsgroup, so I can help you too. >>>>

Since you mentioned VanGuardLH here, it provides me an excuse to bring up >>> an annoing geolocation issue regarding the iOS version in the Vanguard app >>> of the Vanguard Funds investment firm where I keep some of my self-managed >>> 401K savings.

Their app that is virtually identical on Android an iOS, does not allow
download to locations outside of US claiming some security concerns.
Interestingly though Vanguard allows the app to work anywhere as long as it >>> was downloaded and installed in the US. This restriction does not apply to >>> the Android version. So this means I cannot use the iOS version now because >>> I bought my first iPhone in Hungary and tried to use the app on my iPhone >>> 15. Luckily I can use the app on my old degraded Android phone that I
brought with me from the US. But I don’t want to go back to that slow old >>> phone, just for this reason. What is puzzling is that the iOS app would >>> work here if it was installed in the US before leaving the country.
I tried to fake my location to my old US residence via SurfShark VPN, but >>> the AppStore could not be fooled with that. Interestingly, the AppStore >>> does not have this restriction with a similar FldeIity funds app where I >>> also keep part of my 401K savings. I wish you or somebody else could help >>> me overcome this problem.

This sounds like a Vanguard issue. Have you contacted them?

Yes, but the guys you get on the phone don’t know much about tech issues. They know about financial ones, mostly.

They will have a tech team. Raise a support ticket.

--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote on Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:38:09 -0600 :

Me: "Which what GPS spoofing app do you use on your phone?"

I can help answer all your questions, VanGuardLH, because not only am I an
extremely helpful person, but I've tested EVERY single free ad free mock >>>>> location app there is (and wrote about them on this ng many times).

Given I've tested them all, it's likely perhaps that I probably know more >>>>> about GPS spoofing than anyone on this newsgroup, so I can help you too. >>>>>

Since you mentioned VanGuardLH here, it provides me an excuse to bring up >>>> an annoing geolocation issue regarding the iOS version in the Vanguard app
of the Vanguard Funds investment firm where I keep some of my self-managed >>>> 401K savings.

Their app that is virtually identical on Android an iOS, does not allow >>>> download to locations outside of US claiming some security concerns.
Interestingly though Vanguard allows the app to work anywhere as long as it
was downloaded and installed in the US. This restriction does not apply to >>>> the Android version. So this means I cannot use the iOS version now because
I bought my first iPhone in Hungary and tried to use the app on my iPhone >>>> 15. Luckily I can use the app on my old degraded Android phone that I
brought with me from the US. But I don’t want to go back to that slow old
phone, just for this reason. What is puzzling is that the iOS app would >>>> work here if it was installed in the US before leaving the country.
I tried to fake my location to my old US residence via SurfShark VPN, but >>>> the AppStore could not be fooled with that. Interestingly, the AppStore >>>> does not have this restriction with a similar FldeIity funds app where I >>>> also keep part of my 401K savings. I wish you or somebody else could help >>>> me overcome this problem.

This sounds like a Vanguard issue. Have you contacted them?

Yes, but the guys you get on the phone don’t know much about tech issues. >> They know about financial ones, mostly.

They will have a tech team. Raise a support ticket.

This geofencing is a deliberate policy from Vanguard as the message
indicated when I tried to download the app from the AppStore, so I doubt a
tech guy would go against it, For whatever reason, they think the Apple platform is not secure for their app, but Android is. Go, figure.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Cameo wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 23:15:12 -0000 (UTC) :

They will have a tech team. Raise a support ticket.

This geofencing is a deliberate policy from Vanguard as the message
indicated when I tried to download the app from the AppStore, so I doubt a tech guy would go against it, For whatever reason, they think the Apple platform is not secure for their app, but Android is. Go, figure.

I do not understand the problem, but I will say on that last topic that
only in Apple's (brilliant) advertising is an iPhone more secure than
Android.

In the real world, the iPhone is the most exploited phone in history.
<https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog>

As for getting around geofencing, what I'd suggest is change the IP address (which is easy to do) and then change the DNS engine (also easy to do), and then turn off any Wi-Fi scanning (which Google devilishly auto turns on!).

Sometimes when I download apps, I have to spoof the language and other
times I have to spoof the API level & even spoof the phone make & model.

Of course, you also turn on mock location so that you spoof your location.
All that privacy is easy on Android - but impossible with iOS (as usual).

Apple products are only "private" in the (admittedly brilliant) Apple ads.
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

AJL wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 13:35:41 -0700 :

Rest assured, living in the boonies myself, I do all my well pump
and septic work,

City water here. City sewer here. Been in this house 24 years. No
problems (yet).

I'm glad you're in a jovial mood as this thread got a bit tedious.

The only "services" we get in the boonies come on the telephone poles.
That's electricity. And phone. Not even cable is here yet. Some day.
(That's why we all have our own antennas - we get Wi-Fi from miles away.)

I take care of my own pool,

Three HOA pools here. No maintenance for me...

Just like nobody understands gravity because they've been lied to their
entire lives about what it is, nobody understands pool chemistry either.

If you care, gravity isn't a force. It's the curvature of spacetime inward rushing at 11km/sec due to mass:energy of the earth - and that inward force
is pressing against the electrostatic outward forces of earth's
electrostatic mass pushing outward at 9.8m/s/s (which is why the earth is shaped like a ball since those two forces equal out).

Except tidal forces. They're actually real forces. Go figure.

Anyway, gravity is the earth is expanding outward at 9.8m/s/s and spacetime
is rushing inward at 11km/sec which makes us "feel" like there's a force.

Who knew. Most people don't. Most people are incredibly stupid.

When you truly understand something - it's *never* what people intuit.
Likewise with pool chemistry.

It's too hard to describe but there are only two things that matter with respect to pool chemistry, one of which is disinfection & the other is saturation, but with those two things are more than a half-dozen "other
things" that determine if the water is aggressive or scaling and whether or
not you can hold chlorine and how much you need - and any of hundreds of thousands of permutations & combinations will be acceptable - but what
happens is pool stores and web sites alike pick one or two of those things
and say "that" is what you need to fix - which is why almost nobody
understands pool chemistry. Those half dozen things are here:
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elitecrest.orenda>
<https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orenda/id1171005221>

By the way, that's the best pool-chemistry app on the planet, bar none.

I cut down trees to burn for firewood myself,

Kill trees to pollute the atmosphere? Shame.

Well, in my defense, most of them fell down already, and I'm just bucking
them, but some are the California Bay tree, which is a weed out here, and others are the various California Oaks that get sudden Oak death disease,
and others still are the Monterey Pine trees that die from the bark beetle.

With all that stuff killing trees, we have plenty of wood to buck.

I trench for my (off-grid) guerrilla solar setup,

No solar here. Shame on me. But then my electricity comes from the
nuclear plant 30 miles away so maybe no shame on me??

Nuclear? Ouch. I love nukes but California is into wind and solar.

We are filthy rich in sunlight. Not so rich in Uranium. NY/NJ has the best uranium in the country, I'm told (anywhere they have radon problems usually
has good uranium ore). Gotta' love the Laurentian Shield for radioactive
ores.

I do my own electrical work, and plumbing repairs,

No electrical problems yet but I do call the plumber from time to time.

Electrical work and plumbing is easy. The only problem is plumbing takes bending and crawling. Like when you have to snake the septic system. Yuck.

I refill my carbon dioxide sodastream canisters at home, I refill my
one pound propane tanks from my 20 pounders which themselves are
filled from my thousand-gallon propane tank,

Nothing like that here.

It's easy. You buy 10 pounds of dry ice and you pop off the valve of a
10-pound carbon dioxide tank and fill it up and cap it before it sublimes.

Then you leave it outside because it's gonna get frosty and stick to
anything it's touching. Let it warm up outside for a day and now you have
10 pounds of carbon dioxide gas at about 800 psi.

Then flip it upside down and fill up the 1 pound (actually 14 ounces) sodastream with the liquid carbon dioxide. Easy peasy. Cheap too.

The propane is the same process but you can't flip your 1000 gallon tank so
you let gravity do it for you. But you do flip the 20 pound tank to fill
the 1 pound propane tanks with liquid propane. Same as carbon dioxide.

Easy peasy.

I refill the vehicles with gasoline myself at home, my cars are 30
years old and I do all the maintenance & repairs, including changing
the tires when they're worn and balancing them at home, etc.

Love those gas stations down the street. My cars a year old now so all repairs are warranty.

My cars are three decades old but they're all repaired by me so I know
their history as I got them new. Gas I get at Costco in 50 gallon
increments and then I fill up the car with my own gas pump at home.
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLDKHL7B>

Or I siphon if I'm lazy. I put the can on top of the car for height.
You don't worry about scratching the paint on a 30-year old vehicle.

But my point was that the fact you "can" be tracked is more important
than if the person who wants to track you "knows how" to do it

Of course I can be tracked. I can't think of anyone who would want to
track me though. It would be very boring for them...

Spouses for some reason are the bogeyman in this thread. Not sure why.
I'm not too worried about my spouse. It's my kids I'm worried about. :)

- since they can always hire someone to do that dirty work for them.

I suppose. Sounds like a bit of paranoia thinking to me though.

Luckily we each have only one spouse (at most) to worry about, right?
And we all know where she is 'cuz we've been tracking her for years. :)

If someone is going to track a spouse, I doubt they care if it's
legal or not, but I even doubt whether or not it's illegal if no
court order is involved. I don't know. I'm not a lawyer. Neither are
you I presume. I suspect it's perfectly legal to "track a spouse" as
long as you don't break a law (e.g., violating a court order) in
doing so.

Agreed. A court order is likely needed for a spouse. But hiring someone
to do the spouse tracking can likely be illegal.

I don't know - as I'm not a lawyer - but I don't think so. I think it's
fine to track anyone you want as long as you use legal means to do so.

Unless there's a court order or a trespassing decree. Did you know that California has trespassing laws that start from infraction and go to
felony? That's as complicated as the California curb-color laws.

Yellow. White. Green. Blue. Red. Do they really need 5 different colors?

The privacy hole is that you "can" be tracked. Not that you "are"
tracked, since you will likely never know if you're actually being
tracked.

Agreed. So can you. Go to the doctor? It's online. Pay taxes? It's
online. Use a credit card? It's online. Have a bank account? It's
online. Etc etc etc. All available to the computer bad guys (and office personnel). And you'll probably never know they're (gasp) looking at it...

Every time some lady in an office tells me she needs my identifying
information and then she says they "protect" it, I give her an earful.

It's so easy to add a keylogger to any computing device, it's not
funny. Anyone with physical access can do anything to most
computers.

They'd have to break into my house to have access to my toys. If that
happens I suspect the toys would be gone, not key-logged. And unlike you
I keep all my home stuff locked (even my phone) with 5 digit pins so as
to give me time to change the necessary passwords...

As you know, I have no passwords or pins on my computer devices, but my
kids and wife have them and we all know everyone's code 'cuz it's their birthday. Ooops. I said too much...
--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

Cameo wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 23:15:12 -0000 (UTC) :

They will have a tech team. Raise a support ticket.

This geofencing is a deliberate policy from Vanguard as the message
indicated when I tried to download the app from the AppStore, so I doubt a >> tech guy would go against it, For whatever reason, they think the Apple
platform is not secure for their app, but Android is. Go, figure.

I do not understand the problem, but I will say on that last topic that
only in Apple's (brilliant) advertising is an iPhone more secure than Android.

In the real world, the iPhone is the most exploited phone in history. <https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog>

As for getting around geofencing, what I'd suggest is change the IP address (which is easy to do) and then change the DNS engine (also easy to do), and then turn off any Wi-Fi scanning (which Google devilishly auto turns on!).

Sometimes when I download apps, I have to spoof the language and other
times I have to spoof the API level & even spoof the phone make & model.

Of course, you also turn on mock location so that you spoof your location. All that privacy is easy on Android - but impossible with iOS (as usual).

Apple products are only "private" in the (admittedly brilliant) Apple ads.

This is too complicated to a recent convert from Android and I am thinking
of buying myself a second phone that would be Android. That would allow me
to use the best apps from either OS.

--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

Cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:

Andrew <andys@nospam.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote on Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:38:09 -0600 :

Me: "Which what GPS spoofing app do you use on your phone?"

I can help answer all your questions, VanGuardLH, because not only am I an
extremely helpful person, but I've tested EVERY single free ad free mock >>>>>> location app there is (and wrote about them on this ng many times). >>>>>>
Given I've tested them all, it's likely perhaps that I probably know more
about GPS spoofing than anyone on this newsgroup, so I can help you too. >>>>>>

Since you mentioned VanGuardLH here, it provides me an excuse to bring up >>>>> an annoing geolocation issue regarding the iOS version in the Vanguard app
of the Vanguard Funds investment firm where I keep some of my self-managed
401K savings.

Their app that is virtually identical on Android an iOS, does not allow >>>>> download to locations outside of US claiming some security concerns. >>>>> Interestingly though Vanguard allows the app to work anywhere as long as it
was downloaded and installed in the US. This restriction does not apply to
the Android version. So this means I cannot use the iOS version now because
I bought my first iPhone in Hungary and tried to use the app on my iPhone >>>>> 15. Luckily I can use the app on my old degraded Android phone that I >>>>> brought with me from the US. But I don’t want to go back to that slow old
phone, just for this reason. What is puzzling is that the iOS app would >>>>> work here if it was installed in the US before leaving the country.
I tried to fake my location to my old US residence via SurfShark VPN, but >>>>> the AppStore could not be fooled with that. Interestingly, the AppStore >>>>> does not have this restriction with a similar FldeIity funds app where I >>>>> also keep part of my 401K savings. I wish you or somebody else could help
me overcome this problem.

This sounds like a Vanguard issue. Have you contacted them?

Yes, but the guys you get on the phone don’t know much about tech issues. >>> They know about financial ones, mostly.

They will have a tech team. Raise a support ticket.

This geofencing is a deliberate policy from Vanguard as the message
indicated when I tried to download the app from the AppStore, so I doubt a tech guy would go against it,

I would be interested to see this security message.

For whatever reason, they think the Apple
platform is not secure for their app, but Android is. Go, figure.

It sounds like a company policy based on ignorance or an error on one of
the platforms.




--- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2