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[Technology] Do stores read your cellphone metadata?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Cohete Rojo, Dec 18, 2015.

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  1. Cohete Rojo

    Cohete Rojo Member

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    I'm at a sandwich place that I frequent about once per week. I downloaded a particular song to my phone two weeks ago and hasn't been to this place until now.

    I'm sitting here listening to the song playing over the store speakers. Do these places read your metadata? I ask because I had never herd this song in this particular place until just now. This has actually happened in other places. How do they know?
     
    #1 Cohete Rojo, Dec 18, 2015
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  2. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title

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    Not only do sandwich shops do this, but they won't even let you trade out your fountain drink for a bottled soda if the fountain machine is broken. It's insanity.
     
    #2 Haymitch, Dec 18, 2015
  3. Northside Storm

    Northside Storm Member

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    the songs you have downloaded on your phone are not metadata, they're the data itself. If you're on the latest version of iOS (newest iPhone operating system), not even law enforcement or Apple themselves can access that data ever since Apple implemented strong encryption by default.

    http://www.wired.com/2014/10/golden-key/

    what likely happened is that whatever caused you to download that particular song also echoed out through a group of people, and based on engagement/usage stats of music consumption, the store ran with that particular song.

    or they have telepathy monitoring enabled
     
    #3 Northside Storm, Dec 18, 2015
  4. conquistador#11

    conquistador#11 Member

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    [​IMG]
     
    #4 conquistador#11, Dec 18, 2015
  5. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    I see a whole new vista for paranoiacs -- you no longer have to worry about someone reading your thoughts, they're reading your metadata. It's insidious because it's much easier to rationalize.

    But, speaking from my experience in corporate America, I'd say there is no way any sandwich chain is so organized and savvy that they can do anything useful in Big Data by plucking information off the smartphones of customers (or otherwise, for that matter).
     
    #5 JuanValdez, Dec 18, 2015
  6. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

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    [​IMG]
     
    #6 Space Ghost, Dec 18, 2015
  7. Rashmon

    Rashmon Member

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    Some of your D&D posts have obviously put you on some NSA watch list.
     
    #7 Rashmon, Dec 18, 2015
  8. heypartner

    heypartner Member

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    This isn't just your metadata. People can read your facial expressions, to. Be careful and stealthy, like a poker player.
     
    #8 heypartner, Dec 18, 2015
  9. Amiga

    Amiga Member

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    If you go there often, easy enough to test. N/m, they likely can read your mind's intention.
     
    #9 Amiga, Dec 18, 2015
  10. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    That's what I figured. Geofencing is something that can seem scary that anyone can do. Seems to be more and more common lately.
     
    #10 Ziggy, Dec 18, 2015
  11. Cohete Rojo

    Cohete Rojo Member

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    It's metadata because it's data that describes me. And just because it's encrypted don't mean that whatever app company I used to download the song won't sell that data or have some kind of data sharing plan with the store.
     
    #11 Cohete Rojo, Dec 18, 2015
  12. txppratt

    txppratt Member

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    beacon technology can pick up mobile devices - lots of companies have them to detect mobile users. wouldn't be surprised if they could all kinds of data about devices that hit their network. but who knows
     
    #12 txppratt, Dec 18, 2015
  13. Jontro

    Jontro Member

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    W Bush is still at it.
     
    #13 Jontro, Dec 18, 2015
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