How GPS Actually Works on Your Phone (not what you think)

Summary

El video explica cómo funciona el GPS en teléfonos móviles y las implicaciones de privacidad. Destaca que los teléfonos no envían su ubicación a los satélites, sino que reciben señales de estos. También cubre el uso de sistemas de posicionamiento global como GPS, Galileo, Baidu y Glonass. Resalta la precisión actual de los satélites GPS y cómo se ha mejorado a lo largo de los años. Además, aborda el tema de la privacidad y cómo las compañías como Google y Apple recopilan datos de ubicación a través de Wi-Fi y servicios como Suple y la escaneo de Wi-Fi, lo que permite una traza de movimientos de personas a gran escala.

Takeaways

• 🌐 La tecnología GPS ha evolucionado desde sus aplicaciones militares a su uso en dispositivos modernos como los teléfonos móviles.
• 📱 Los teléfonos móviles utilizan un módulo GNSS en lugar de solo GPS, lo que permite utilizar todas las constelaciones de satélites de posicionamiento disponibles.
• 🤔 Existe una gran cantidad de误解 sobre cómo funciona el GPS, particularmente en relación con la privacidad y la transmisión de datos de ubicación.
• 🚀 Hay más de 24 satélites GPS, y otros sistemas de posicionamiento global como Galileo, Baidu, Glonass y QZS.
• 📶 Los dispositivos GPS son receptores y no emiten datos, lo que desmiente la teoría de que el GPS está transmitiendo la ubicación del usuario al mundo.
• 🏠 Las señales GPS son muy débiles y no funcionan bien dentro de edificios, lo que explica por qué no se puede usar GPS en interiores.
• 🛑 Es posible bloquear los señales GPS, aunque hacerlo es ilegal en algunos países.
• 📱 Los teléfonos móviles también utilizan Supl (Secure User Plane Location) para mejorar la precisión y rapidez del GPS conectándose a bases de datos de ubicación de Wi-Fi.
• 🔒 Las compañías Big Tech como Google y Apple tienen acceso a grandes cantidades de datos de ubicación de los usuarios a través de sus servicios y dispositivos.
• 🔒 La privacidad es un tema de preocupación, ya que las compañías pueden usar los datos de ubicación para rastrear el movimiento de las personas.
• 📱 Existen soluciones y productos diseñados para proteger la privacidad, como teléfonos que no están controlados por empresas centrales y servicios VPN.

Q & A

¿Cómo funciona el GPS en un teléfono inteligente moderno?

El GPS en un teléfono inteligente utiliza un módulo GNSS que capta datos de al menos cuatro satélites para calcular una posición precisa mediante triangulación. Además, los teléfonos inteligentes pueden combinar datos de GPS con Wi-Fi para mejorar la precisión y rapidez en la obtención de la ubicación.

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre GPS y GNNS?

Mientras que GPS se refiere específicamente al Sistema de Posicionamiento Global de los EE.UU., GNNS (Global Navigation Satellite System) es una terminología más amplia que incluye a todos los sistemas de satélites de navegación global, como Galileo (UE), Glonass (Rusia), QZSS (Japón) y Beidou (China).

¿Cómo los satélites GPS transmiten su posición y hora?

Los satélites GPS transmiten continuamente sus coordenadas de posición y la hora asociada a esa ubicación, sincronizada con un reloj atómico para garantizar precisión. Estos datos son enviados en frecuencias conocidas y pre-publicadas.

¿Por qué el GPS no funciona bien dentro de edificios?

El GPS no funciona bien indoors porque las ondas radiofónicas que emiten los satélites son muy débiles y no tienen suficiente potencia para atravesar paredes o techos, lo que dificulta su detección por los dispositivos dentro de edificios.

¿Cómo se puede bloquear la señal GPS?

Es posible bloquear la señal GPS creando ruido en las frecuencias utilizadas por el sistema. Sin embargo, es ilegal en muchos países y puede interferir con los dispositivos en la zona.

¿Qué es Suple y cómo afecta la privacidad?

Suple (Secure User Plane Location) es una función en todos los teléfonos móviles que utiliza la ubicación de las torres de celular más cercanas para mejorar la velocidad y precisión en la obtención de la ubicación. Google posee la patente de Suple, lo que significa que recoge datos de ubicación de dispositivos móviles conectados a internet, lo que puede afectar la privacidad de los usuarios.

¿Cómo funciona la triangulación Wi-Fi para localización?

La triangulación Wi-Fi implica la detección de routers Wi-Fi en la zona y el envío de la información de su MAC address y la fuerza del signal a un proveedor de ubicación, como Google o Apple. Estos proveedores tienen bases de datos con la ubicación exacta de cada router Wi-Fi, lo que les permite calcular la ubicación exacta del dispositivo.

¿Cómo pueden los teléfonos inteligentes跟踪 la ubicación incluso cuando no hay señal GPS?

Los teléfonos inteligentes pueden realizar un seguimiento de la ubicación a través de la detección de routers Wi-Fi cercanos, lo que se conoce como triangulación Wi-Fi. Además, los dispositivos con sistema operativo Android open source (AOSP) no envían datos de ubicación a Google, lo que reduce la trazabilidad de la ubicación.

¿Qué medidas se pueden tomar para proteger la privacidad en relación con el GPS?

Para proteger la privacidad, se pueden utilizar dispositivos que no tienen control centralizado, como los teléfonos Brax 2 que ejecutan Brax OS, o se puede utilizar un VPN que no revela la utilización de un servicio de VPN. También se puede eliminar a Google de los dispositivos Android mediante la instalación de Googled phones.

¿Cómo los datos de GPS y Wi-Fi son utilizados por las grandes empresas tecnológicas?

Las grandes empresas tecnológicas, como Google y Apple, utilizan datos de GPS y Wi-Fi para construir bases de datos detalladas de ubicación y mejorar servicios como la navegación y la localización de servicios. Estos datos también pueden ser utilizados para fines de publicidad y análisis de comportamiento del usuario.

¿Qué es el Google Sensor Vault y cómo se relaciona con la privacidad?

El Google Sensor Vault es una base de datos que almacena información de ubicación recolectada de dispositivos móviles. Esto ha levantado preocupaciones sobre la privacidad, ya que indica que Google tiene un historial detallado de la ubicación de los usuarios, lo que puede ser utilizado para rastrear movimientos y patrones de comportamiento.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introducción al funcionamiento del GPS y privacidad

Este párrafo aborda la falta de conocimiento común sobre cómo funciona el GPS y las inquietudes sobre la privacidad asociada con su uso. El video tiene como objetivo desmentir mitos sobre el GPS, explicando que los teléfonos móviles no envían su ubicación al mundo, sino que son receptores de señales de satélites. Se menciona que el GPS original fue creado por los EE. UU. y ha evolucionado con el tiempo, pasando de ser una herramienta militar a una disponible para el público en general. Además, se introducen otros sistemas de navegación satelital como Galileo, Baidu, Glonass y QZSS.

05:00

📱 Cómo funciona el GPS en smartphones modernos

Este segmento explica que los receptores GPS en los teléfonos móviles son en realidad chips estandarizados, generalmente fabricados por Broadcom, y forman parte de un módulo combinado de Wi-Fi, Bluetooth y GPS integrado en las motherboards de los teléfonos. El módulo de localización global en un teléfono se llama GNSS en lugar de GPS, ya que utiliza todas las señales de satélite disponibles. Se destaca que las señales GPS son muy débiles y por eso no funcionan室内. Además, se menciona que es fácil bloquear el GPS creando ruido en las frecuencias utilizadas por la señal, aunque esto es ilegal en algunos países.

10:01

🌐 Suple y la privacidad en la localización de dispositivos móviles

Este párrafo discute sobre Suple (Secure User Plane Location), una función en todos los teléfonos que se vincula directamente con el uso de GPS. Google posee la patente de Suple y coordina los datos provinientes de ella. Suple utiliza la señal de la torre de celular más cercana para determinar la ubicación del usuario, lo que significa que Google tiene una idea aproximada de la ubicación de cada teléfono en el mundo. Esto plantea preocupaciones de privacidad ya que Google puede rastrear movimientos masivos de personas. Además, se introduce el concepto de Wi-Fi scanning y triangulación, que permite a los dispositivos móviles determinar su ubicación incluso sin una señal GPS.

15:02

🔒 Protegiendo la privacidad: alternativas y soluciones

Este párrafo finaliza el video discutiendo cómo se puede proteger la privacidad frente al rastreo de la ubicación mediante GPS. Se menciona que los dispositivos móviles están conectados a Internet y realizan Wi-Fi router detection, lo que permite a empresas como Apple y Google rastrear continuamente la ubicación de los usuarios. Sin embargo, se sugiere que utilizar teléfonos con sistemas operativos como AOSP Android o Linux puede evitar que se envíen datos de localización. El video termina promocionando productos y servicios diseñados para proteger la privacidad, como el Brax 2 phone, Googled phones y servicios VPN y de correo electrónico.

Keywords

The video is abnormal, and we are working hard to fix it.
Please replace the link and try again.

Highlights

Most people are unaware of how GPS works and its associated privacy issues.

GPS function on modern phones has evolved from the 2000s handheld devices.

The misconception that phones constantly beam location data to satellites is partially true but often misunderstood.

GPS technology was originally created by the US military and has been adapted for consumer use.

There are 24 GPS satellites orbiting Earth, each transmitting their position and time down to Earth.

GPS devices receive signals from at least four satellites to compute a precise location fix through triangulation.

GPS technology has been complemented by other global positioning systems like Galileo, Baidu, Glonass, and QZSS.

GPS signals are weak radio waves, which is why they don't work indoors and can be easily blocked.

The Danish hacker demonstrated how GPS signals can be manipulated using an inexpensive SDR unit.

GPS receivers in phones use a standardized chip that is part of the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS system on the phone's motherboard.

The global positioning module on phones is called GNSS, which utilizes all available positioning satellites.

GPS accuracy has improved over the years, with new USA satellites providing accuracy within 11.8 inches.

Wi-Fi scanning is used for location determination not just by GPS but also by devices without GPS like computers.

Google and Apple maintain databases of Wi-Fi routers and their exact locations worldwide.

Standard phones continuously emit GPS location data, which can be collected by Google and Apple.

There is no way to stop the transmission of GPS data to Google and Apple for standard phones with internet connection.

Devices running on AOSP Android or Linux do not send GPS data to Google, providing more privacy.

The company creating the video offers privacy-protecting products like the Brax 2 phone and a stealth VPN service.

Transcripts

based on comments left in my videos I

just realized that most people do not

know how GPS works and do not know if if

there are any privacy issues associated

with the GPS function some ask questions

like is there a way to disable the GPS

chip

in this video I will focus specifically

on how GPS functions on a modern phone

it is definitely not the same as it was

in the 2000s were handheld devices were

becoming a thing

but I will focus specifically on the GPS

function on a mobile phone this is very

specific there are no GPS devices on the

computer for example not sure many know

that either yet a computer can find your

location almost as accurately as a GPS

stay right there for another learning

moment about the tech involved with the

GPS feature on your phone

[Music]

the biggest misconception by non-techies

is that your phone is beaming out your

location to the world satellites

constantly now there is some snippet of

Truth in this but not in the way most

are thinking so we will eliminate the

misconceptions because it makes the

operation of the GPS sound like it's

part of some conspiracy theory first I

will discuss the mechanics of the GPS

technology itself as it was first

created this has been modified somewhat

over the years but I'll get to that

later we will start with the base

technology which many consumers have

used since 2000 or right before that it

was used in military applications way

before that though let's talk about the

original GPS system or global

positioning satellite system as created

by the US

there are 24 satellites roaming in orbit

around the Earth

now the Flat Earth people will state

that there are no satellites so we'll

ignore that for now each satellite is

constantly transmitting its position

coordinate all the 24 satellites are

doing this together with the position

coordinates the satellite also transmits

the time associated with the location

this time is very exact each satellite

is synchronized to an atomic clock so

this will be consistent

the way a receiving GPS handheld device

gets a position is by acquiring location

data from at least four satellites again

you're receiving the location of the

satellite not your device

without a this takes a while up to a

couple of minutes since the GPS device

will listen for data

on the known frequencies used by the 24

satellites

once it captures data from four

satellites then it can compute a

position fix at the point of the

handheld device

the position fix is made by

triangulating the known positions of the

satellites to the time it takes for the

signal to reach your handheld device

as I already mentioned this is based on

an atomic clock so there's a lot of

precision in the time in milliseconds

the computation of the position is done

by the handheld device the fourth

satellite though is just used to verify

the time so three are used to

triangulate position and one satellite

for time synchronization so far you will

see that the device does not emit any

data it is just a receiver

this by the way is the same way a Sirius

XM receiver receives streaming audio

from the satellite it is received only

now it doesn't end here and there is

data that is emitted from a phone I'll

get to that later but you will discover

that the emitted data is not through the

GPS system itself in the meantime let's

expand the story there are actually

plenty more satellites than the ones

offered by GPS from the USA

in the past there were threats from the

US government that GPS signals could be

stopped during time of arm Conflict for

example so it should come as no surprise

that other countries have come up with

their own Global Positioning Systems

there are several the EU created a

system called Galileo the Chinese made a

system called Baidu and the Russians

have their own called glonass Japan also

added more satellites and their system

is called qzs now I mentioned the Flat

Earth people

it's interesting how so many different

countries

decided to fly multiple satellites to

Earth orbit without coordinating with

each other

in fact with competing interests to the

USA

hmm

okay let's move on the GPS receivers on

the phones are actually just a

standardized chip I'm guessing that most

are made by broadcom and are part of the

Wi-Fi Bluetooth GPS SOC built into phone

motherboards

and to be accurate the global

positioning module on a phone is called

gnss instead of GPS this is because the

positioning system utilizes all

positioning satellites apparently all

these countries agreed to share before

the 2000s the US GPS system had some

restrictions to accuracy for Consumer

use only the military systems had better

accuracy the USA version had an initial

accuracy of 16 feet but the Russian

glonass version was refined to 6.6 feet

today GPS signals give a more robust

position which is especially important

for self-driving cars the stated

accuracy of the new USA satellites is

within 11.8 inches so again the broadcom

Wi-Fi Bluetooth GPS chip on your phone

is doing the position fix

there is a logic to why someone would

want to combine Wi-Fi and GPS on the

same chip because in modern Computing

devices location is determined not just

by the GPS but also by Wi-Fi

now I will continue to refer to the

positioning system as GPS

although I had already told you that it

is actually referred to as gnss GPS is

more recognizable so we'll stick to that

now let her find a story further the

satellites all emit a signal which as I

said earlier is a position and timestamp

and these are on well-known and

pre-published frequencies

here's an interesting factoid the GPS

signals are very weak radio waves this

is why GPS doesn't work indoors there's

not enough power for it to go through

your roof or walls

I will add one more fact here

it is very easy to block GPS in fact you

don't even need a strong signal to block

GPS

if you create noise in the frequencies

used by a GPS you will block GPS

reception by all devices in the area

because the required noise signal would

be so weak it likely wouldn't be

detectable from a distance and thus even

if this is officially illegal in the U.S

per the FCC in reality it would be hard

to discover

there's a Channel with a hacking done on

GPS using an inexpensive SDR unit you

can just plug into your USB

as that channel States doing this is

supposed to be done in a laboratory

environment and only by someone with a

ham license with no effect of blocking

the signal for other parties this

channel is called the Danish hacker and

I will link its video in the description

it's been around a while

I believe in this video the Danish

hacker actually made the GPS detect that

he was in a different location

this is easy to do and is done simply by

increasing the gain on the local source

of GPS signal so it is stronger than the

satellite some of you will see the

Privacy advantage of this if you

implement the solution done by the

Danish hacker in your home

but I don't want to suggest to you that

you do anything illegal I personally

have a ham license so I can do this

legally as long as I don't interfere

with the signal for others

this is interesting though because in

theory we get our locations tracked not

because we ourselves are Cavalier about

location settings but our guests use our

Wi-Fi network and then emit location

information

if our guest phones get an incorrect GPS

position then it will of course protect

the location associated with our IP

address

now there's more we get to the juicy

details about how our phone emits

location data using just the GPS

there are two parts to this so let me

start with the more basic part

supple

Supple or secure user plane location is

a feature on every phone that is tied

directly to GPS use I will tell you

ahead of time that this feature is now

owned by Google

Google bought this patent so Google is

the single entity on Earth that

coordinates the data from supple

the way Supple Works your phone will

attempt to get the location off the

nearest cell tower any cell tower I

don't think even the carrier is involved

with this meaning it is Carrier agnostic

there is a list of all cell towers in

the world and their locations are

published your phone detects the

strongest cell tower signal and then

identifies that Tower and sends it over

to supple.google.com

this part is not entirely clear though

this data is sent over the internet in

many cases I hear it is possible that

this data is also sent via the carrier

if you're connected to a sales service

I suppose this makes sense as flip

phones and non-smartphones need a way to

also send data to supple.google.com so

the cell tower is the input to

supple.google.com the output or the

return data from Google are the

satellites or satellite frequencies that

are nearby by doing this the connection

to GPS becomes almost instantaneous

instead of the phone trying out every

possible frequency and listening for

satellite signals that may be out of

range

this is why old handheld GPS devices

like the original ones I had from Garmin

took around two minutes to acquire

satellites

this of course would render a phone

unusable for critical GPS use like for

car navigation

so since the Advent of smartphones

Supple has been the order of the day all

phone devices today use Supple likely

GPS and cars do so as well

the problem here from a privacy point of

view is that Google then knows roughly

where each phone is in the world at

least connecting each one to a specific

Tower

yes it is not super precise but the

massive amount of available data here

can be used to track large movements of

people for example armies just to

theorize here it would have been

possible for intelligence agencies to

see mass movements of people from the

Warner group that were headed towards

Moscow all based on Supple found data

Wi-Fi scanning

now let's move on to the more precise

way that location is tracked and

recorded using a GPS and this is

something that once again cannot be

controlled by the user just like Supple

cannot be controlled

as I mentioned earlier computers do not

have a built-in GPS but yet computers

can accurately determine your locations

how does it do that it does it by a

process called Wi-Fi translation Wi-Fi

triangulation is used to find locations

indoors where there is no GPS signal

the way it works is like this the Wi-Fi

chip in your device can look for Wi-Fi

routers in the area this has been built

into every Wi-Fi chip since 2007. before

it was a specialty feature used by

hackers

Wi-Fi routers announced themselves with

a Mac address which uniquely identifies

the router

a computer will get a list of Wi-Fi

routers in the area and it will take the

two or three strongest signals and will

pass the MAC address of these routers

and the signal strength to a network

location provider or NLP then the NLP

will take that and put and output an

exact location to within six feet

just to simplify this further there are

only two nlps that normal phones use one

is Google and the other one is Apple

so to make it clear Google and apple

both have a database of every Wi-Fi

router in existence in the world and its

exact location

each Wi-Fi router is identified by the

MAC address by giving the Mac addresses

of at least two routers to Apple or

Google they can look up the device and

compute your exact location

well you might wonder what does this

have to do with the GPS can I just say

that GPS doesn't work indoors

guess what folks how did Apple and

Google build this database of Wi-Fi

routers with their predetermined GPS

positions

that is really the interesting part and

is really the Crux of the 24 7 location

tracking if you have a Norby phone or

Google Android then when you're walking

around in this world outside your GPS is

receiving data and your phone is

connected to the internet

your phone then performs the same Wi-Fi

router detection it can do indoors but

this time it does it in reverse your

phone sends the Wi-Fi router Mac address

signal strength and the GPS position to

Apple and Google

this is done continuously and it's

crowdsourced so on your street all your

neighbors walking by your house are all

reporting the locations of your routers

and your neighborhoods routers to Apple

and Google together with a GPS position

to populate the Wi-Fi triangulation

database

you cannot stop this as there is no

switch to turn this off

assuming that Apple and Google can

identify your device and it would be

irresponsible of me to suggest that they

cannot identify your device signal by

Apple ID or Google ID then it is of

course expected that both Apple and

Google know where you are at all times

and if this wi-fi scanning stops it must

indicate that you went indoors

as I said there is no way to stop this

transmission off location to Apple and

Google if you have a Normy phone however

if you have a d Google phone meaning a

phone running AOSP Android open source

project like the Brax 2 phones then this

signal isn't being sent

it breaks two font for example does not

have any communication with Google

so they cannot possibly receive location

information

this should also be true of Linux phones

if you happen to have those particular

devices but if you have a standard phone

then assume that your GPS data is

leaking constantly

the issue isn't really the GPS itself

but your internet connection you can

assume that if your phone has no

internet connection then Wi-Fi scanning

or the GPS data leak should disappear at

least for that moment whether it caches

it in the background is another issue

this has also gotten more complicated

with iPhone since iPhones can

communicate with other iPhones using the

Apple mesh Network which supports air

tag it is possible that iPhones can

still transmit location data even when

there is no internet connection as long

as you're not in the remote areas of

Greenland where there are no other

iPhones

anyway I hope this gives you a little

bit more understanding in summary all

standard phones emit your GPS location

constantly Google stores this data in

the Google sensor Vault and from this

data 940 plus people have been charged

in the January 6 Capital rights which

prove that your phones leak GPS data

folks my company creates products that

are intended to protect our privacy we

provide phones that have no centralized

control and are invisible to Big Tech

our most popular device is the Brax 2

phone running Brax OS we also have pixel

phones that have Google removed they are

called the Googled phones

we have a VPN service by its VPN which

is a stealth VPN in that it doesn't

scream that you're on a VPN we do not

put thousands of you on a single server

we have braxmill which gives you many

domains for privacy and eliminates the

metadata from your emails this means no

IP addresses and traces on your email

that show where it came from

all these products are on the store on

my app Brax me

come visit us there the link is in the

description

thanks for watching and see you next

time

foreign