US government is snooping on people via phone push notifications, says senator

[BOP]

Turns out, putting Marick Garland in charge of anything is a bad idea.

Many people don’t realize that the instant alert push notifications you get on your phone are routed through Google or Apple’s servers, depending on which device you use. So if you have an iPhone or iPad, any push notifications can be seen by Apple, and if you use an Android, they can be seen by Google.

But, it seems, it’s not just Apple and Google who can view them.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Senator Ron Wyden urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to “permit Apple and Google to inform their customers and the general public about demands for smartphone app notification records.”

And, since Apple and Google serve as intermediaries in the delivery of these push notifications this puts them in “a unique position to facilitate government surveillance of how users are using particular apps, “ wrote Senator Wyden.

The type of information varies from app to app, but in certain cases, it might also contain unencrypted content, which could range from backend directives for the app to the actual text displayed to a user in a notification.

In the letter, Senator Wyden asked the DOJ to repeal or modify any policies that hinder public discussions of push notification spying.

Meanwhile, over at FakeBook, subscribers are getting time-outs for liking too many people's posts, or for responding to too many people's birthday wishes or congratulations on things like weddings and whatnot. Or talking about what a great guy Meatdad is. That was a 5-hour time out for a security violation. Yeah, that'll teach someone to violate security protocols...or something.

US government is snooping on people via phone push notifications, says senator | Malwarebytes

Government agencies have been asking Apple and Google for metadata related to push notifications, but the companies aren't allowed to tell users about it.

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[GURPS]

I heard about this push notification issue a couple of days ago