Privacy

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I'm starting to believe the "McDonalds" identification might be a slight of hand to protect privacy invasions? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago by wowwoweowza@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

49 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I’m timid about this and might be late to a party where others already had this idea, so please, no haters.

I can’t get over how facile and stupid the identification of LM was at a McDoballs. This is someone who fell off the entire grid for three months??

Just asking… but couldn’t an organization trying to conceal its reach and inevitability track a fella… and then… force an identification?

I do not have any idea about details… it’s broad strokes. Could it be? How many other privacy lovers heard about these three months completely off the grid somehow and also wondered… how?

Please pardon if this isn’t the appropriate place but the real theme is privacy. What if the watchers are always watching even when a person might believe they have made themself completely digitally invisible?

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[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 32 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is someone who fell off the entire grid for three months??

Its very easy to hide when nobody is looking for you.

[–] wowwoweowza@lemmy.world 5 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I heard he left zero digital traces. That would be hard for me even if I was trying.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 4 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

Just don't log into your accounts lol

[–] MonkeyBusiness@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Even with location off, couldn't the cell provider track him using his phone connections by triangulating the latency between at least three cell towers? They may not get a location as precise as GPS, but they'd be close enough. I guess there could be an app that creates false latency in order to throw off cell providers, but that seems extreme and possibly illegal. Unless configured, it would also give odd locations to the cell provider which may trigger further investigation. "John Doe was in Long Island 3 minutes ago, and now they're in Newark. That's unusual." To go completely off of the grid, a person would have to not log into anything and also have no cell phone. They'd have to go back in time to the early 90s using maps, notebooks, and public phones.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 7 points 11 hours ago

I imagine you'd either have no phone, or one of those prepaid with cash ones. You could also probably turn off the cell parts and only use wifi

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Exactly. I haven't logged in anywhere for 2 months and counting

[–] MonkeyBusiness@sh.itjust.works 7 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

You had to be logged in to post your comment.

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

No no you're just reading my thoughts

[–] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 hours ago

Hey it's me, your alt account.

[–] toastal@lemmy.ml 3 points 10 hours ago

Tetris0—10 are different users. Trust me.