
'Textalyzer' Aims to Curb Distracted Driving, but What About Privacy? - happy-go-lucky
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/04/27/525729013/textalyzer-aims-to-curb-distracted-driving-but-what-about-privacy
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leejoramo
The description of 'Textalyzer' sounds dishonest. I can't tell if this is a
fake product being sold to unsophisticated police agencies, or deceiving the
public about what is really happening.

The only way I can see it working is for the owner of the phone to login and
allow a full backup via USB. This requires much more than "tap one button" and
"90 seconds"

Even then I am not sure that iOS or Android will provide all of the data they
are claiming to collect.

> "They can simply just tap one button ... and it will process, about 90
> seconds or so, and it will show what the last activities were — again that
> could be a text message and so on — with a time stamp,"

> The device would display a summary of what apps on the phone were open and
> in use, he says, as well as screen taps and swipes. "For example, if it was
> a WhatsApp message, or a call, it will indicate what the source was, the
> time stamp, and then what the direction of the communication was — so if it
> was an outgoing call versus an incoming call."

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finnn
That or it'e exploiting some flaw in the OS. I wonder how long until we see an
app that will ship fake data off the phone when one of these devices is
plugged in.

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finnn
I'm worried that this is marked as "just like a brethalyzer" when it's really
much more equivalent to "just like the government demanding full access to
your phone", presumably they will claim that it does one thing and doesn't do
another, but it will be closed source and no one will be able to verify that.

