According to the Washington Post (paywall), The FBI uses mobile push notification data to unmask people suspected of serious crimes such as pedophilia, terrorism, and murder. Gizmodo reports: A quick search of court records found evidence of at least 130 search warrants filed by federal authorities seeking push notification data in cases spanning 14 states. In these cases, FBI officials ask tech companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook to hand over data related to suspects' mobile notifications and use that data to link suspects to specific apps. Involved in criminal activity. It was supposed to be an anonymous communication platform like Wickr.
How exactly is this possible? Push notifications provided by mobile operating system providers contain embedded metadata that can be inspected to understand how a mobile app is used on a particular phone. Masu. Apps include quiet identifiers called “push tokens” that are stored on corporate servers at companies like Apple and other phone manufacturers after a user signs up to use a particular app. These tokens can later be used to identify the user using the app based on information associated with the device on which the app was downloaded. Experts claim that turning off push notifications on your device doesn't necessarily disable this feature. […]
If finding new ways to catch pedophiles and terrorists doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world, an article in the Post explains how this kind of mobile data is used to track people who haven't committed serious crimes. It emphasizes the voices of critics who are concerned that the – including political activists and women seeking abortions in states where abortion is restricted.
