[HN Gopher] Apple's AirDrop leaks users' PII, and there's not mu...
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       Apple's AirDrop leaks users' PII, and there's not much they can do
       about it
        
       Author : alexrustic
       Score  : 35 points
       Date   : 2021-04-24 16:14 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
        
       | coolspot wrote:
       | Pavel Zhovner, creator of Flipper[1] had this cool post [2] in
       | June 2020 on how he used Apple AirDrop for automated dating and
       | fun. It included the phone number recovery component as well.
       | 
       | 1 - https://flipperzero.one/
       | 
       | 2 - https://m.habr.com/ru/company/ruvds/blog/505384/
        
         | failwhaleshark wrote:
         | I wonder if doing this would be illegal in the US, a-la Aaron
         | Swartz.
        
           | snotrockets wrote:
           | I don't know what the criminal threshold for stalking and
           | harassment is. But unlike Zhovner and yourself, I know what
           | the normative threshold is (tip: it's DON'T THE FUCK).
        
       | temp667 wrote:
       | What a bogus headline.
       | 
       | If you don't want to try to sync with others publically, don't
       | airdrop in a place where you think someone is waiting to steal
       | your information.
       | 
       | Reality though - your email and phone number is probably already
       | out there.
       | 
       | I'm waiting for the headline - thieves who grab the phone you
       | stick out in front of you while you walk / sit / eat / drink /
       | ride bus / ride train - may get PII. They really can - and likely
       | lots more than whatever apple is leaking.
       | 
       | No excuse for apple's idiocy, just some perspective perhaps. You
       | can easily avoid this - I can't remember last time I used share
       | pane in public.
        
         | randyrand wrote:
         | It's not just email and phone. It's email and phone _and
         | location_.
         | 
         | This would be very useful info for marketing campaigns.
         | Automated emails to people that go to specific stores, parks,
         | etc.
        
           | joshmanders wrote:
           | > and _location_.
           | 
           | Ok? AirDrop doesn't work miles away from people, so if they
           | got your email and phone already through AirDrop, how is
           | having your location such emphasized?
           | 
           | "They can see you, gasp!"
        
           | GeekyBear wrote:
           | The number of people transferring files in public is so
           | limited that it would be much more simple to buy the
           | marketing data for everyone in a given city.
        
       | throwaway1090 wrote:
       | Discussion from 3 days ago:
       | 
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26889665
        
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       (page generated 2021-04-24 23:02 UTC)