[mlthoughts2018]

What I don’t get about this kind of thing is that it’s not just shady data resellers you’ve never heard of. It’s also overt, high profile, branded tech companies like Foursquare and Yelp, with huge amassed data sets of foot traffic, wifi scans, battery status, often paired with demographic info or data that can be joined by ad IDs or commercial device graphs.

If these companies are able to keep on truckin’ with massive user bases who don’t seem to care that the entire business model rests on flagrant violation of data privacy and data reselling, why would you ever expect anyone to care about the long tail of scammy lesser known data resellers?

Companies like Yelp or Foursquare are essentially as scammy as it can possibly be, with the scamminess shoved right in users’ faces, with lots of middle fingers and half-hearted sound bytes about respecting data privacy. If users don’t react in horror and delete accounts / stop contributing en masse in response to that, why would you ever think an expose about something a further ten degrees removed from the user’s immediate experiences is going to cause any reaction?

People just don’t care.

[whoopdedo]

When someone uses an app such as Yelp it's like valet parking. They know they're handing over something vital, but its with the expectation that the company will provide something of value in exchange, and trusting that they won't use it for more than that. Yes, you're allowing a company to track your movement (for the purpose of grading restaurants). And yes, you're allowing someone else to drive your car (for the purpose of finding a parking space). If you find out a third-party is tracking your location though, that would be as if someone other than the valet were driving your car. And when they use it for their own gain in a way that doesn't return anything of value to you, that would be considered joyriding.

[mlthoughts2018]

“I hand over my data in exchange for the app handing over a valuable experience or service” is the hugest lie in the business. This is exactly what the disingenuous marketing doublespeak of Yelp and Foursquare says.

In reality, most users really do not understand or consent to the level of data tracking and are very confused about terms of use or privacy settings in the app or just on their device.

The big problem is that it is just not possible for the vast majority of people to have enough expertise or technical know-how to give anything resembling informed consent. Whatever the user is agreeing to, it emphatically is not anything like consent.

[jeffbee]

The fact that Apple Maps integrates Yelp is a big red flag for me, and I think a big hole in their privacy story. It's why I am more comfortable using Google Maps than Apple Maps.

[martimarkov]

The data doesn't come directly from Yelp AFAIK. It goes throught Apple's servers. Yelp isn't queried directly.

Again this is from my memory of MITM proxying iOS.

[Nextgrid]

They are still promoting that garbage company though (for a lot of other reasons besides privacy).

[indymike]

Try Google Opinion Rewards and see if you still have that...opinion.

[Jon_Lowtek]

How are Foursquare and Yelp collecting wifi scans?

-> ok so yelp bought "Turnstyle WiFi" which runs wifi hotspots at businesses like Burger King and collects client data ...keeps reading... oh god their wifi is worse than their burgers this is sickening