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Is it possible to disable HERE data collection? [answered]

asked 2014-03-07 10:46:47 +0200

c.la gravatar image

updated 2014-03-07 16:23:11 +0200

chemist gravatar image

Hi, when I try to enable GPS on Jolla I am asked to accept to collect location data for wifi hotspots and cell towers location to be sent to HERE.

I always refused that.

Is there a way to get access to GPS chip with 3rd party applications without accepting HERE terms and conditions? I don't need to use Jolla maps application (that is the real HERE maps I guess)

Thank you

(edit: I'm asking because on Android is possible to disable Google hotspot location collection) Edit2: the location collection is also about cellphone towers in range

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The question has been closed for the following reason "the question is answered, an answer was accepted" by pawel
close date 2016-10-28 09:59:28.531020

Comments

3

Possible duplicate of the question Location settings, but I like this question because it more explicitly expresses what is important to me - not collecting location data.

luen ( 2014-03-07 11:28:54 +0200 )edit

@luen thanks to point out the other question. I searched TJC for this but didn't find it.

yes I'm looking for an explicit answer about data collection

c.la ( 2014-03-07 12:20:47 +0200 )edit

@luen it is exactly about that, not directly spelled and the approach is upside down but it is basically about the data farming (like the last sentence reads) I will update it to reflect this as well.

chemist ( 2014-03-07 16:11:06 +0200 )edit

well in my opinion the other TJC post is about more settings for GPS, I don't see (in the top post) any reference about disabling here data collection. Am I missing something? :)

c.la ( 2014-03-07 16:22:07 +0200 )edit
1

the settings asked for are to turn on and off services which are using data-farming, the question changed over time, initially it was about GPS turning on mdata to call home to nokia, it evolved to requesting settings to control the data-farming by making opt-out possible.

chemist ( 2014-03-07 16:27:23 +0200 )edit

4 Answers

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7

answered 2014-03-08 04:22:13 +0200

JohnDoe gravatar image

updated 2014-07-08 04:18:55 +0200

Edit: As Aaron McCarthy points out: This will only disable the utilization of collected data for positioning. I guess you have to disable the GPS altogether until this is fixed or someone finds out either which process connects to HERE or which hostnames/IPs are used.

This can obviously break the system. I recommend restoring the status quo before updating.
Enable developer mode, open a terminal and become root (su-devel).

1. Move the evil binary
mv /usr/libexec/geoclue-here /usr/libexec/geoclue-here-idontthinkso
This sadly prevents the real gps daemon (/usr/libexec/geoclue-hybris) from running. I suspect they are started in sequence and the first one failing prevents the second one from being started.

2. Create a systemd unit for the good gps service
# write this to the file /etc/systemd/user/hybris-gps.service
[Unit]
Description=GPS Daemon
After=user-session.target

[Service]
Restart=on-success
RestartSec=10s
BusName=org.freedesktop.Geoclue.Providers.Hybris
ExecStart=/usr/libexec/geoclue-hybris

[Install]
WantedBy=post-user-session.target

3. Enable the unit
Edit: This needs to be done as nemo, not root
systemctl --user enable hybris-gps.service

4. Reboot

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Comments

thank you for that excellent insight! After march update I'll try it

c.la ( 2014-03-11 15:29:55 +0200 )edit

Has someone try this (with 1.0.5.16)? Or is there now another solution?

utkiek ( 2014-04-13 17:37:14 +0200 )edit
2

How about replacing geoclue-here with a stub / dummy executable? It could keep systemd happy, so you wouldn't need to create a new unit.

Fuzzillogic ( 2014-05-02 19:36:57 +0200 )edit
1

I tried that ofc. Apparently the starting process checks if the corresponding bus (i guess org.freedesktop.Geoclue.Providers.Here) appears on the session dbus. So a stub which just registers that and idles until it is terminated could be better. Unless it breaks the applications which try to use the bus.

Note that above workaround is not optimal. Since the service is always running, there is an impact on battery life.

The fix would be to split the 'Location' option in the 'Location' settings into 'GPS' and 'Nokia Here':

[here would be the trivial patch if the source was available]

JohnDoe ( 2014-05-06 00:00:27 +0200 )edit

After the latest update I always get Failed to get D-Bus connection: Using X11 for dbus-daemon autolaunch was disabled at compile time, set your DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS instead when trying to start the service. Any ideas?

J4ZZ ( 2014-05-21 17:32:51 +0200 )edit
4

answered 2014-07-10 06:54:26 +0200

Aaron McCarthy gravatar image

Support for disabling the use of HERE positioning services independently from positioning as a whole will be supported in a future update (not in update 8).

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ETA? (because quite some time has passed)

compulsoryRegistration ( 2014-11-01 20:14:40 +0200 )edit
3

answered 2014-05-22 16:50:00 +0200

rainisto gravatar image

updated 2014-05-22 16:55:06 +0200

You can use tcpdump to monitor data flows and if(?) there is any data gathering, you can use iptables to block addresses that you don't like (or adding them as localhost in /etc/hosts file).

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Comments

1

Its not only privacy and data collection. There are e.g. unnecessary rooming costs when travelling abroad. Ok, the bunding from gps with here has benefits. But in other settings pure gps without here is the right way. In https://together.jolla.com/question/41718/privacy-security-usability-subjective/ I found: >GPS without HERE": It's being worked on, to be provided as setting.< Good news for a real sailor sailing at foreign coasts.

utkiek ( 2014-05-23 22:59:55 +0200 )edit
0

answered 2016-10-28 04:39:28 +0200

DarkTuring gravatar image

Since 2016 Here allows offline map download, simply download all your country or state maps and then activate Here offline mode.

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2

As offtopic the (native) Maps application is still missing the offline mode. And back to the topic: This isn't about android software "Here WeGo", but the advanced GPS settings which uses Here data of WLAN stations and GSM base stations in your range for faster GPS locks but on the "downside" you might send some data back to Here to help improve their services (and you have to agree to this when enabling this mode). Also you should stop selecting correct answers to old questions where your answers doesn't relate to the actual question (this isn't your first time).

avhakola ( 2016-10-28 07:35:54 +0200 )edit

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Asked: 2014-03-07 10:46:47 +0200

Seen: 2,132 times

Last updated: Oct 28 '16