Thanks for sharing this! Such a simple and unexpected technique!
I had wondered about ISPs being able to see who is using messaging services like Signal and deduce who is talking to whom. “Oh, this person is sending some unknown message to this other person. And this other person tends to receive messages right after the first person sends the message. They must be talking to each other.”
I imagine Tor would make this harder.
But, regardless, I imagine the reason other messaging services weren’t tested was because of the researchers’ resources and the scope off their research. Could this mean that Matrix could also be susceptible?
I have my GPS data disabled both on the mobile and on the PC by system. Websites and services can only determine my location using the public IP, which only shows the location of the ISP’s server, which may be across the country. At least if you don’t use a car navigator, there’s no real need to have GPS turned on. Alternatively in mobile you can use this FOSS app
That’s good but this article isn’t about GPS. Essentially, they’re watching how long it takes for the message to reach you to calculate your location.
This methode don’t allow to see the exact location, it’s only possible with GPS. Time tracking isn’t more exact than your public IP. This only allows you to determine what autonomy you are in, but no more. If not, they could save the money to launch GPS satellites by using this method.
