potential data location breach

[floormops]

I have just seen a sky news item about a US data location tracking firm Gravy analytics that has been hacked. Mumsnet is quoted as being one of the apps affected with potential breach of user location details. The article advises turning off location if using the app on your phone.

Has anyone seen this?
I am reluctant to post the link mentioned in the item in case it isn't safe.
Is anyone from MN likely to see this before Monday?

This is the link to the sky news page - it seems ok to me.

tnews.sky.com/story/millions-of-peoples-intimate-location-data-stolen-in-major-hack-13286722.

There's nothing on that link?

Oh. Let me try again.

news.sky.com/story/amp/millions-of-peoples-intimate-location-data-stolen-in-major-hack-13286722
This one works

https://news.sky.com/story/millions-of-peoples-intimate-location-data-stolen-in-major-hack-13286722

Wouldn't be the first time.

Sorry I think I missed a bit in my c&p.

"Graeme Stewart, from cyber security firm Check Point, told Sky News: "This is a new type of hack.
"It's not just your personal details, it's really quite intimate details about your life and what you're doing and how you're doing it.""

Well that's just great

Why is mumsnet collecting our location data and can I turn that off?

I think it'll be to do with your browser permissions. My phone has location data permanently turned off for everything except Google maps, and that is only given permission when I'm actually using the app.

Or does this hack somehow override that?

Am I correct that it is a problem if you are using the app? Or is it using the site on your phone generally? I am not very knowledgeable about the tech stuff.

Apps only collect what you allow them to.

In the Sky article linked it tells you what to switch off on your phone, it's under 'what you can do'

I'm very concerned about that report as well. MN is a target to a lot of messed up people who find something wrong about a site of mostly women talking to each other about things women expereince or consider important. I'd like to know if MN users' position data has been compromised, is it the app only or app and website, and if that data can be linked to MN usernames or posts and to other online activity.

Is there a way to flag this thread to MN for a response?

I thought MN looked at this board. It seems not so I will report my post and ask them to read the thread.

I'm quite shocked that MNHQ haven't commented on this issue yet.

@LilyMumsnet
@HopeMumsnet
@HebeMumsnet
@PipMumsnet

... at the very least to advise posters what they need to do next.

I've just gone through location services on my phone (iPhone) and was really quite surprised at how many apps were able to view my precise location. So I've turned all those off (apart from ones I deemed essential).

@BIWI is there a central location menu for that or have you had to go through each app individually?

Yes, I had to do each one. Which is fine, as there are different 'levels' of access you can choose for each app. So Uber and Maps, for instance, probably do need to know my precise location. My calendar much less so!

Hi all.

No Mumsnet user data is involved in this attack - we don't work with Gravy Analytics and we don't track our users' location.

The breach affects thousands of apps that may track your location - the best way to protect yourself against this is:
Android: Settings -> Privacy -> Ads -> Delete Advertising ID
iPhone: Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Track -> Allow Apps to Request to Track

We're closely monitoring the situation and will update if any new information comes to light. Thanks for posting.

Thanks @BeckyAMumsnet (and apologies for not tagging you earlier).

If Mumsnet/Mumsnet users aren't involved, how come we've been named in that article?

To quote that article from Sky:

Tinder, Spotify, Citymapper, Mumsnet and Sky News were among hundreds of companies named in a sample list of apps linked to the breach.

It says in some articles that you don't have to work directly with them, it's about "software development kits" that sites have used.

He also told Sky News the apps named in the leak weren't necessarily working with Gravy Analytics.
Instead, he said, software development kits used in the apps appeared to be sending off users' location data.

news.sky.com/story/amp/millions-of-peoples-intimate-location-data-stolen-in-major-hack-13286722

Hey @BIWI, no worries. The location tracking works through ad requests. When an app requests to display an ad, companies like Gravy Analytics pose as ad providers and track the location of the request. We don’t share a user’s exact location with the ad request, so the location they see is usually just an estimate.
However, in apps where precise location is needed, they can track a device's movements by analysing multiple ad requests. This allows them to map out where the device is traveling over time. Hope this clarifies things.

How did I miss this thread/information? Thanks @floormops and others for posting.