On 2020-04-12, Andrei POPESCU <andreimpope...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Du, 12 apr 20, 08:05:49, Curt wrote:
>> Surely there must be a way of stracing the Maps app in Gnome to >> determine what it is doing and how, with a view to seeing whether the >> OP's privacy settings are being respected or not. It does appear, >> though, at any rate, that a 50 m radius geolocational precision is >> feasible by IP address alone. > > Just to clarify, the privacy concern here is the software accessing the > internet without explicit user consent, regardless of what it is using That's not my understanding. I understood the OP explicitly "ran" the Gnome Maps program, which kind of connects to the Internet by definition (and performs fun functions other than eventually pinpointing the user on a map). OP: "... when I enter the Gnome Maps application, it determines and shows my location on the map." https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Maps About Maps Maps gives you quick access to maps all across the world. We use the collaborative OpenStreetMap database, enabling our users to make smaller changes to places and points-of-interests. If your privacy settings allows, Maps will use the GeoClue service to find your location. And if you have a Facebook or Foursquare account we allow you to check-in there. https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/geoclue/geoclue/-/wikis/home The aim of project is to utilize all possible sources of geolocation to best find user's location: WiFi-based geolocation (accuracy: in meters) GPS(A) receivers (accuracy: in centimeters) GPS of other devices on the local network, e.g smartphones (accuracy: in centimeters) 3G modems (accuracy: in kilometers, unless modem has GPS) GeoIP (accuracy: city-level) GeoIP. Is that simply guessing his position via his IP address or something else, maybe some database? https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/stable/privacy-location.html.en Geolocation, or location services, uses cell tower positioning, GPS, and nearby Wi-Fi access points to determine your current location for use in setting your timezone and by applications such as Maps. When enabled, it is possible for your location to be shared over the network with a great deal of precision. One notes that the above description of location services doesn't include GEOIP (certainly a loophole for one of the many Philadelphia lawyers in the group), and thus turning them off would not in principal preclude GeoIP, though the accuracy maybe isn't constrained as asserted to the "city-level."
